Smartmatic ‘breach’ unrelated to 2022 elections –PPCRV

An alleged breach in the security of poll technology provider Smartmatic, which was revealed during a Senate hearing, had nothing to do with the May 2022 elections, a Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) executive said Saturday.

"'Yung sinasabi pala ng CICC (Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center) na na-compromise ang sistema ng Smartmatic, bunsod pala 'yon ng former employee ng Smartmatic. Tapos ang nakita naman pala roon ay 'yung mga personal files ng ilang Comelec officials at saka 'yung personal engagement activities nila with Smartmatic. So walang kinalaman talaga diyan sa 2022 elections," Dr. Arwin Serrano, PPCRV National Trustee/Secretary, told GMA News Online.

(What the CICC was saying that the Smartmatic system was compromised, it was due to a former employee of Smartmatic. What was discovered were the personal files of some Comelec officials and their personal engagement activities with Smartmatic. It had nothing to do with the 2022 elections.)

"Akala ko nga mayroon siyang na-capture na mga either 2016 o 2019-related na files. Pero apparently, wala namang nabanggit na gano'n eh," Serrano said of the Smartmatic employee who was allegedly involved in the breach.

(I thought he had captured either 2016 or 2019-related files. But apparently, nothing was mentioned like that.)

Senator Imee Marcos, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms, claimed that a Smartmatic data breach that included personal information, ledgers, office photos, contact persons in the Comelec, might have been hacked by a syndicate.

Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III meanwhile disclosed that an employee of Smartmatic allowed a certain group to copy files, including sensitive information, from his laptop.

Serrano, who had been attending hearings in both houses of Congress regarding election issues together with other poll watchdogs, expressed doubts that the alleged infringement would affect the elections this May.

"So far, kung 'yang January, kung related 'yan sa 2022, wala pa, wala pang naipapasok sa sistema kasi kasalukuyan pa lang tine-test 'yung different machines. 'Yung transmission test hindi pa tapos, patapos pa lang ngayong month na ito," he said.

(If what happened in January was related to the 2022 election, nothing has been placed in the system yet. They are presently still testing the different machines.)

"Tapos 'yung iba pang configurations ng SD cards hindi pa naman din tapos, patapos pa lang," Serrano added.

(As for the configurations of the SD cards, that has yet to be completed, it's still being completed.)

"Ang sinasabi ko lang, based doon sa mga shinare out of that executive session, wala naman din talaga masasabi na directly related sa 2022 elections," Serrano, who also serves as the poll watchdog's Director for Voters Education and Volunteer Mobilization, explained.

(What I'm saying, based on what was shared during the executive session, nothing was directly related to the 2022 elections.)

— DVM, GMA News