PhilHealth says corporate website, member portal now back online
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) on Friday announced that it has resumed its online services following a ransomware attack.
According to PhilHealth in a statement, it resumed its Corporate Website and Member Portal as of 12:00 p.m. on Sept. 29, Friday — a week after the hacking incident.
“These public-facing application systems are already up and running and now accessible to the general public through the internet,” PhilHealth said.
“The e-Claims system will be available within the day,” it added.
Meanwhile, the government-owned healthcare service provider assured the public that its databases are “intact, safe and secure,” telling members that their benefit entitlement will not be hampered by the incident.
However, PhilHealth said that it has yet to verify reports of leaked members’ data allegedly found on the dark web, insisting that it will not pay the alleged demand for ransom, per government policy.
To recall, computer hackers attacked the website and online application of PhilHealth last Friday, Sept. 22, taking down the systems and blocking access.
PhilHealth said it immediately shut down its application upon the advice of the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) to isolate key services and to ensure that the ransomware infection will not spread to critical computers.
“PhilHealth has been working round the clock since Friday to clean up the affected workstations and restore normalcy soonest,” the healthcare provider said.
It then assured the public that it continues to work closely with the DICT and the National Privacy Commission (NPC), even coordinating with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police.
“PhilHealth sincerely asks for the public’s understanding and support during this time and implores certain groups and sectors to refrain from concocting false and misleading information to avoid creating panic and distrust among our members and stakeholders,” PhilHealth said.
“The entire state health insurance agency takes this incident seriously, seizing the opportunity that this incident brings to further strengthen its information security infrastructure in order to prevent this from happening again,” it added.
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