A Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) official on Thursday said the personal data of some 28 million passport holders are at risk of being compromised due to the absence of a cybersecurity system.
“We are really concerned with the security of our more than 28 million passport holders’ data,” DFA Office of Consular Affairs Assistant Secretary Adelio Cruz said during a Senate finance subcommittee hearing on the DFA’s proposed P27.4-billion budget for 2025.
“It is something we really want to protect,” he said.
As he raised this concern, the DFA official noted that there was some data from different government agencies that had been hacked, and “some were sold on the deep web.”
Cruz added that they “are not happy” with the government-owned and -controlled corporation in charge of printing passports.
Sen. Loren Legarda, chairperson of the finance subcommittee, identified the GOCC as “APO,” referring to APO Production Unit.
“There [were] several incidents where their data and system were allegedly breached. Unfortunately, they would not admit to the gravity or to the degree of the breach. We believe that is being sugar-coated… So perhaps it would be better if APO explains,” Cruz said.
Cruz said the DFA is considering employing a cybersecurity system and is already negotiating with several cybersecurity firms for rates.
“We’re seriously looking into the possibility of employing a cybersecurity system for all our passport data. We’re negotiating with several companies, trying to get the best and lowest rate,” he said.
Cruz said they would send the Senate committee a report “sometime next week.”
“So we can sleep soundly at night and ensure that not a single passport data is sold in the dark web,” Cruz said.
Legarda also directed the DFA to give the Senate all the information, as she is eyeing filing a resolution regarding this incident.
The senator also asked Cruz to attend the Senate subcommittee’s budget briefing of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), which supervises APO, next week.
“We have our litany of concerns, madam chair,” Cruz said as he agreed to Legarda’s proposal.
GMA News Online called APO Production Unit, but they have refused to give a statement yet as they are fixing the issue with the DFA internally.
