The cat photo used by the NBI Cybercrime Division (Screenshot from Facebook Live)

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Cybercrime Division revealed to a House of Representatives panel the glaring flaws within the SIM registration system of telecommunications company Globe, particularly when it comes to identifying mobile phone users.

During a hearing of the House Committee on Information and Communications Technology on Tuesday, Aug. 27, NBI Cybercrime Division Chief Jeremy Lotoc presented a video to show how a photo of a cat and a blank document can successfully be used as identification documents.

Lotoc said despite using these images as "proof of identification", the Globe SIM card was nonetheless registered.

The NBI official informed House members that the agency showed a similar presentation before a Senate hearing last year using a photo of a smiling monkey. This suggests that the company has not yet “learned” from prior lapses.

In response, Globe lawyer Ariel Tubayan said the company has a system in place to validate and detect dubious registration.

“Posibleng marehistro ‘yung mga ganyang bagay but supposedly may matatanggap din silang notification kasi pag na-detect namin na non-human yan, may SMS na matatanggap na sinasabi, update your details, kasi we also have to consider yung ibang tao na sometimes nagfefail ang kanilang pag upload ng picture, so…we give them opportunity to upload. But for a certain number of days madedeactivate po yan,” Tubayan explained.

(It is possible to register such things but supposedly they will also receive a notification because when we detect that it is non-human, the user will receive an SMS saying, update your details, because we also have to consider other people who sometimes fail their registration, so we give them the opportunity to upload. But for a certain number of days that will be deactivated.)

But Lotoc told the committee that the NBI has not received such notification from Globe. Yhe SIM card has not been deactivated yet despite its registration a week ago.

Tubayan said there might have been a “time lag” in the deactivation process and in the sending of notification via SMS.

Navotas City lone district Rep. Toby Tiangco, the committee’s chairperson, asserted that it was clear Globe wasn't “expeditiously enforcing” its security protocols.

“They are not trying their best. Ibig sabihin para lang maka-comply at makabenta ng SIM card, hindi nila hinihigpitan ‘yung protocols,” stressed Tiangco.

(This means that just to be able to comply and sell SIM cards, they don't tighten their protocols.)

“The root cause now is obviously there’s something wrong with the registration system,” added Pasig City lone district Rep. Roman Romulo.

Meanwhile, Smart and Dito said their respective companies have placed “stricter measures” to prohibit dubious SIM registrations. 
    
Lotoc said the NBI also tried registering Smart SIM cards using fake identifications, but the system rejected it.

Last year, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) mandated telecommunication companies to have live selfies and optical character recognition as requirements in the SIM registration. The NTC likewise sought to prohibit stock photos for identification.

The NBI Cybercrime Division has been investigating the reported “spoofing” of SIM registration systems as organized crime groups have used dubious accounts for “mule” and scamming purposes.