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The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) on Friday, Feb. 14, denied reports of a data breach, dismissing the claims as “fake news.”
“I have just checked. At the moment, none of our websites are compromised, breached, or hacked,” PCSO General Manager Mel Robles said in a statement, warning the public to “beware of fake news for views.”
He issued this warning after another piece of “fake news” circulated on social media, claiming that the agency’s database had been “hacked” by an obscure group of hackers.
The PCSO also assured the public that its systems remain secure and that no sensitive information was compromised.
The agency urged the public to rely only on official announcements and warned against spreading false information online.
‘Fake news’
Robles categorically described the report as fake news, stressing that there was “never a breach” in any of the official sites or databases of the PCSO.
“This is fake news,” Robles said. “There was no breach nor any successful attempt to hack the systems of the PCSO,” he explained, adding that the agency has “not reported anything” to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) “because nothing had happened.”
“While there were numerous attempts (in the past) to hack our system from all over the world, our digital defenses are holding out and remain impregnable,” he stressed.
Database of lotto winners is ‘safe’
Robles also disputed an online news report stating that the PCSO and the DICT were reportedly “investigating a report on an alleged breach of the data of lotto winners.”
He emphasized that the news report came from an “alleged group of hackers who were obviously attempting to make a name for themselves by claiming they breached the PCSO system.”
Robles clarified that “none of their accounts was attacked or compromised.”
The PCSO explained that “the post simply stated that the group obtained email accounts of PCSO employees—most probably the email accounts of branch office personnel from the Cagayan branch—based on the screenshots attached to the post.”
Robles pointed out that the list comprised individuals “who availed of the promo of the PCSO branch in March 2022, not names of winners—whether of jackpot or consolation prizes.”
The PCSO noted that the image of a woman holding tickets indicates that the promo tickets were availed of by “real” people. Therefore, the information published by the hackers belonged to recipients of a promo from the Cagayan branch in March 2022, not lotto winners.
“Our database for the lotto jackpot winners is safe in the head office,” Robles said. “The branch offices are not connected to the head office,” he added.
Robles previously dismissed the claims, stating that the systems and sites of the government-owned and controlled corporation are secure.
“Relax, today is Valentine’s Day, and don’t let it be ruined by groups trying to cast doubt on the integrity of our games,” Robles said. “It’s too early for April Fool’s Day, so let’s not easily fall for it,” he added.
— Merlina Hernando-Malipot
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Credit belongs to: www.mb.com.ph
