DICT probing possible EMB data breach

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is looking into an alleged unauthorized access incident involving the Company Registration System (CRS) of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), an attached agency of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

In a statement, the DICT reported that authorities were alerted to the alleged security breach at around 2 p.m. yesterday.

The affected database, the EMB CRS, serves as the primary repository used to register, manage and maintain official corporate records of businesses nationwide, including company ownership data, registration status and sensitive corporate filings.

Preliminary reports indicate that the alleged data breach involves both personal and corporate information maintained within the bureau’s system.

The DICT warned that if the incident is validated, the exposure presents significant privacy and cybersecurity risks that could compromise the confidentiality of business data entrusted to the government agency.

“At this stage, the reported incident has not yet been confirmed,” the DICT said in its statement. “The authenticity of the exposed information, the extent of the alleged exposure, the source and method of access and whether the information originated from the EMB CRS remain subject to further verification.”