The Philippines’ Commission on Elections (Comelec) is insisting that voters’ biometric data was not breached in recent hack attacks against its website.
The attacks occurred toward the end of last month, with Comelec’s website first being defaced by Anonymous Philippines, followed by the posting of voter data by a group called Lulzsec Pilipinas. That data seemed to include voter information such as name, address, voter ID number, and so on, but it wasn’t clear whether voters’ biometric data – which had to be provided in anticipation of the country’s first biometric election – had also been compromised.
Speaking to media, Comelec said this week that no fingerprint, signature, or facial biometrics data had been exposed in the attacks, and spokesperson James Jimenez continued to question the authenticity of the data posted by Lulzsec Pilipinas. Jimenez also criticized IT company TrendMicro for its statements highlighting the severity of the hack attacks, noting that the firm doesn’t have access to Comelec’s official databases and therefore can’t confirm the legitimacy of the posted data.
Comelec maintains that the country’s May elections will go ahead as planned, including their use of biometric voter authentication.
Source: CNN Philippines
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April 13, 2016 – by Alex Perala
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