Privacy body starts probe into Globe Telecom ‘personal data breach’

MANILA, Philippines — The National Privacy Commission on Tuesday said it is investigating a “personal data” breach affecting 8,851 customers of Globe Telecom.

Globe said the incident “was just a case of sending the data registration confirmation receipt to the wrong individual and was not sent en masse or as a group of data.”

“It only affected prepaid customers who have registered to the On The List program to avail of concert tickets and other music venues of Globe events,” it added.

In a statement, Privacy Commissioner Raymund Liboro said Globe had notified the NPC about the breach last January 27.

“Our team is still evaluating the incident and verifying the information given to us, following our standard procedure,” Liboro said.

“Those who may have been affected are advised to monitor their online and offline accounts for any unusual activity, to change passwords and other means of identity verification, and to be careful of phishing attempts and other online risks,” he added.

“We will provide updates once our team completes its evaluation.”

Globe Chief Information Security Officer Anton Bonifacio said the On The List registration site was taken down immediately to remove access to potential registrants at the time of the breach.

“We have notified all affected prepaid customers of the issue,” Bonifacio added.

Globe said it has 60 million prepaid customers. — Ian Nicolas Cigaral