Conclusion
At the start of this three-part series I suggested that we look beyond the theft of $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank’s account with the Federal Reserve (the Fed) of New York by cyber criminals.
Now, it seems the “beyond” I was suggesting is already upon us. Early last month, hackers leaked the records of more than 55 million voters from the web site of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
The Bangladesh heist, which involved the transfer of money from the Fed in New York to a bank in the Philippines, then to a casino, has been described as one of the biggest cyber theft in history.
The hacking of the Comelec web site is being described as potentially the biggest data breach involving a government. These are distinctions that no Filipino would be proud of.
Concerns were raised that the release of the personal information of voters could be used for cheating in the May 9 elections. Outside of the political exercise, and to a wider and longer-time extent, the leak exposed more than half of the country’s population to fraud and other risks, including identity theft, one of the common ways by which cyber criminals access victims’ bank or credit- card accounts.
The Comelec said the hacked web site had been taken down with the help of the justice departments of the Philippines and the United States.
The damage, however, has been done. The information that has been exposed to the public includes the full names, birth dates, addresses, registration details and voter identification numbers. Other voter details posted include the persons’ height and weight, passport details, and even biometric information, such as fingerprints.
The leaked information could be used for illegal financial transactions. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), which is treating the incident as a serious concern, has ordered local banks to institute new measures in establishing the true identities of their clients.
Specifically, the BSP wants banks to request for additional proof or secondary information from their clients. In general, banks and credit card companies usually ask for an account holder’s address, birthday and maiden name of client’s mother to establish the client’s identity.
One bank said it was considering the use of biometrics to help in identifying customers. Banks also advise their clients to change their PINs (personal identification numbers) frequently. Credit-card companies have also been sending advisories to their clients on how to protect themselves from fraud.
Because of the numerous frightening implications of the data breach, it may not even be paranoid to say that everything has been compromised.
This is because of the increasing dependence by people and companies on the Internet for almost all of their financial transactions, from paying utility bills, shopping, booking flights, buying tickets to the cinema and so forth.
The digital age has made life so much easier than before the advent of computers, but we are now seeing the undesirable side.
I expect that even with the Bangladesh heist and the hacking of the Comelec web site, the Internet will continue to expand its role in people’s lives. And it’s not even limited to the millennials, or the generation of people born in 1982 to 2000. Even members of Generation X, or those born between the early 1960s to the early 1980s, are now part of the Internet market.
No one can stop hacking or cybercrime, but we must continue to prepare ourselves. Authorities must continue to track down these modern-day criminals and put up barriers to deter their activities.
For our part, each person must be vigilant in safeguarding the confidentiality of personal information and careful in making online transactions.
It is everybody’s job to fight cybercrime.
For comments, e-mail mbv.secretariat@gmail.com or visit www.mannyvillar.com.ph.