Data that tells

Go to any airport and make a bomb joke and the police and military will jump on you like attack dogs, haul you off for inquest and throw you in jail where you could serve up to six years in jail depending on the uric acid level of the Judge. All that for a joke but what if you hack into a government server, steal the personal data of millions of voters and then dump it into the Internet just because you can and wanted to prove you could?

A lot of people are getting paranoid about their personal data having been hacked from the Comelec by bored techies who now find themselves officially “Wanted” and classified as “Criminals.” Over night we now have a grasp of what being a victim of identity theft means. Now we are worried about bank accounts, credit cards, travel and tax documents etc. Yes, we have all been violated. And while the various law enforcement agencies are busy playing catch up with hackers and cyber criminals, the question is: What are the Senators and Congressmen doing about getting tough on Cyber Crime and these “bored techies” who have crossed over to being criminals?

What these arrogant adventurists did is on the level of creating a threat to National Security. They have endangered the stability of banking transactions, peppered what little integrity and confidence we have on Comelec security and procedures and now, millions of Filipinos are on edge about their personal security and privacy. These criminal techies have effectively placed our lives in “Virtual Terror” and that should earn them the classification of “Terrorists.”

Hacking and dumping millions upon millions of personal data is a lot more serious than simply “breaking into” a server or a system. Hacking is one thing, but dumping the data for all the criminals to feast upon and use, is beyond proving your cyber prowess, you have endangered the citizens of the republic and you should be treated and punished as an enemy of the state and an enemy of the people.

If this were done in China, chances are those arrested will be judged in three months or less, and their families made to pay for the bullet to be used by the firing squad because it won’t be a simple case of hacking, it would be sabotage and that is how our lawmakers should start looking at the matter.

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While Senators are still deliberating on whether or not to hold another session to investigate the $81-million Bangladesh cyber heist and money laundering case, it may be noteworthy for the Senators to consider that a number of observers are wondering why their focus is on persons and not banking institutions? To be blunt about it, some have even shared their impression that “Banks” are being protected or being excluded from the fallout and the shared responsibility since the crime was coursed through banks first and casinos only came in later.

About two weeks ago, a man who passed the licensure exams made the mistake of posting his professional ID and ended up being the victim of identity theft. Someone had dug his records and took out loans amounting to P800,000. It’s not different from stolen credit cards etc. But one has to wonder at the kind and level of precaution and verification that banks undertake before signing off on such loans and even credit cards.

When I first applied for a credit card, I needed to present a ton of paper work, needed to get three guarantors, and had a tiny credit limit. Now, I have friends complaining of almost being forced, or being presented with a card they did not apply or request, or credit limits beyond their needs. In the end, it is almost reckless how banks actually try to develop or build up business and have no accountability for the consequences. They simply fire or distance themselves from people who mess up but the banks themselves never pay a hefty price for being lazy, careless or reckless.

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Not only is the Senate and Congress seemingly remiss in monitoring the banking industry, they have actually been remiss in really doing something to put an end to the scams, abuses and thievery that has been done by Pre-Need companies. Once again we have a precarious situation with one of the country’s oldest and biggest companies in pre-need. Before the Loyola situation, 3 or 4 big players closed shop and a lot of their customers have simply left the matter in court or to GOD.

But what about our lawmakers, what are they going to do about it? Will we continually have to accept selective justice from the Boy’s Club and the country club of the rich and influential? You can pretend to be concerned and investigating in aid of legislation, but in truth, some of you are aiding and abetting criminal acts by not investigating and legislating with neither fear nor favor!

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Sometime this week, the word is that several container loads of the impounded “New” vehicle license plates will find their way to the people who paid and legally own said plates. Even if all 11 containers or 600,000 plates are released, the LTO will still be playing catch up but at least the new LTO Chief Asec Bobit Cabrera and BOC Commissioner Bert Lina had the cojones to step up to the plate and do something.

The other good news is that new drivers license cards are now available and in fact I recently got mine and latest change is that the “New” cards actually say “Non-professional drivers license.” The old cards did not indicate the words drivers license and that caused headaches for Filipinos going to the Middle East and other countries not familiar with our license design. So now we have the plastic and not a receipt!

Cabrera also met up with Vintage car owners and representatives of car clubs to “consult” regarding the failed Administrative Order on vintage cars. The AO has been withdrawn by no less than DOTC Secretary Abaya who has instructed Cabrera to consult and fix the problem. One of the most senior club official attending cited Cabrera as being the first to actually meet up with car owners and face the music and do something about their concerns. Cabrera may have come into the LTO in January of this year and only has up to June 30. But he has fixed more problems in four months than people who created the problem through the years.

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