DICT says no breach of eGov app

There has been no  incident of hacking into the eGov app’s system, the Department of Information and Communications (DICT) said Monday.

“Wala pong breach po sa ating eGov app,” said DICT Undersecretary David Almirol Jr. in “Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon.” 

(There was no breach of the eGov app.) 

He said the reported "breaches" were isolated and linked to a third-party system. No personal information was compromised, he added. 

“Ito po ay isang e-complaint ng ahensya na nag-integrate sa eGov na doon nagsusumbong yung mga reklamo po nila. So yung mga data na pinapakita sa sinasabing breach ay hindi po data ng eGov. Ayun po ay data ng isang third party e-complaint system na wala naman pong personal information,” said Almirol. 

(This involves an agency's e-complaint [system] that integrated with eGov, where people submit their grievances. So, the data being shown in the alleged breach is not eGov data. That is data from a third-party e-complaint system which does not contain any personal information.) 

The department also said that the data on eGov app, which is a one-stop shop for both local and national government services, is fully encrypted. 

“Number one, naka-full encrypt tayo sa eGov. Ibig sabihin lahat ng datos natin sa registration, na tinatawag na KYC, ay fully encrypted po ito,” said Almirol. “Kahit yung programmer namin hindi po kaya pong basahin yung datos po.” 

(First of all, we use full encryption on eGov. This means all of our registration data, what we call KYC, is fully encrypted. Even our own programmers cannot read the data.) 

“So aside po sa full encryption na ginawa natin sa ating eGov, mayroon po tayong layers of security natin na nilagay.” 

(So, aside from the full encryption we implemented on eGov, we have also put layers of security in place.) 

The DICT also warned the public against scammers who are pretending to be government employees. No one will call to ask someone to install the app or update one’s record on the eGov app, Almirol said.

“Wala pong employee ng gobyerno pati po sa eGov app na tatawag po sa inyo para mag-install ng app or mag-update ng record. Wala pong ganun,” he said.

(No government employee, including those from the eGov app, will call you to ask you to install the app or update your records. There is no such thing.) 

“Pag meron pong tumatawag sa inyo na nagpe-pretend na eGov staff po sila, isumbong niyo sila sa eGov din. Mayroon dun button for report. Pagka-click mo ng report button,  i-click mo yung scam, i-report mo yung nangi-scam para imbestigahan ng CICC [Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center],” he added. 

(If someone calls you pretending to be eGov staff, report them through the eGov app itself. There is a report button there. After clicking the report button, click 'scam' and report the scammer so the CICC [Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center] can investigate.) — BM, GMA Integrated News@gmanews.tv>