Cybersecurity breach hits 3 Araneta companies

The Araneta Group of Companies on Monday said it is investigating a cybersecurity incident that affected three of its business units as it assured that adequate security and response protocols have been implemented to address the breach.

In a statement, the Araneta group said the breach was detected on Friday, November 28. The affected units include the Araneta Center, Inc., Ticketnet Inc., and PPI (Dairy Queen) Holdings Inc.

“We take this matter seriously and have launched an investigation including international cybersecurity experts with long experience in these matters, to better understand the scope of the incident,” the Araneta group said.

It added that they “implemented response protocols, in addition to enhanced security measures in order to further protect our systems against threats.”

The Araneta group said it has informed the National Privacy Commission (NPC) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) of the cybersecurity incident.

Under Republic Act 10173 or the 2012 Data Privacy Act, companies must notify the NPC of a personal data breach within 72 hours of discovery.

In a “frequently asked questions” post on its Facebook page, Araneta City explained that “only the parking ticket system and the car promo raffle redemption process were affected” and that all other mall operations remain normal.

In its own post, Ticketnet Inc. assured that it is safe to purchase tickets online and that Ticketnet.com.ph and Etix platforms “remain secure and fully operational for online purchses.”

Dairy Queen Philippines, for its part, said the cybersecurity incident affected its website and said customers may still order from Dairy Queen through GrabFood, foodpanda, and Pickaroo.

“Strengthening our digital environment remains our key priority and we are already implementing additional safeguards to reinforce our systems. We want to assure everyone that we are committed to protecting the public’s data as well as that of our stakeholders,” the Araneta group said.

They also also assured that it is handling the cybersecurity incident “with utmost diligence and transparency.”

It also encouraged Filipinos to be “vigilant and exercise good information security practices, including keeping passwords secure and changing them often.” — JMA, GMA Integrated News