The Philippine National Police (PNP) insisted that it was a “data leak” and not a “data breach” that caused over 1 million identity documents and private records to be exposed to the public.
Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Ivan Uy said that the leaked data belonged to applicants from the PNP’s job portal as well as force personnel, which included clearances issued by the PNP, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Civil Service Commission.
The DICT secretary admitted that there were “serious lapses in procedure” and that the PNP’s system was vulnerable, but denied that the leak was a result of a massive data breach.
The PNP’s Information Technology Department even reportedly did not know about the existence of the PNP employment portal and application system.
“It’s not a hack; it’s not a breach. There was no intrusion into any government system,” Uy said.
The PNP’s employment portal has since been taken down, Uy said.
