Investigations on the alleged Smartmatic data breach are still ongoing but the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), on Thursday, March 24, said that if there is indeed a violation or breach, they will prosecute those involved.
DICT Officer in Charge (OIC) Secretary Emmanuel Rey Caintic during the “Laging Handa” public briefing said that while the election is an independent jurisdiction of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), the DICT is in contact with the Commission and various agencies to investigate the alleged data breach on Smartmatic’s system.
Smartmatic is the provider of elections software for the upcoming polls.
“Unang-una, klaruhin ko lang na ang eleksyon ay independent jurisdiction of Comelec. Sila lang po ang ahensya ng pamahalaan na pinahihintulutan ng ating saligang batas na manguna at mag conduct ng elections pati na rin ang mga aktibidad nito (First of all, let me just clarify that the election is an independent jurisdiction of the Comelec. They are the only government agency that our constitution allows to lead and conduct elections as well as its activities),” said Caintic.
“Itong usaping data breach, nakikipag ugnayan tayo with Comelec and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), at kung lumabas man sa imbestigasyon na merong paglabag, merong nag leak, at merong nag-breach ay hahatulan natin ng kaso ang mga sangkot dito (In this matter of data breach, we are in contact with the Comelec and the NBI, and if there is a violation, there is a leak, and there is a breach, we will prosecute those involved),” he furthered.
The DICT, according to Caintic, has also instructed the National Privacy Commission (NPC) to continue investigating the issue and to ensure that Smartmatic’s data privacy officers are held accountable if the breach is proven true.