PhilHealth: Some members’ data compromised by system breach

(FILE PHOTO / REUTERS)

MANILA, Philippines —  The personal information of some members was compromised after its website and online application was hacked last month, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) admitted Monday night.

In a statement, PhilHealth said user data such as names, addresses, date of birth, sex, phone number, and PhilHealth identification number, among others, have been compromised. 

“We are working to notify all affected individuals directly,” the state insurer said.

“If you have not received a notification from us, you may not have been affected.”

“We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this incident caused. We are committed to protecting your data by continuously working to enhance our security measures.”

Those affected are advised to monitor their credit reports for any unauthorized activity, place a fraud alert on credit reports, change passwords on online accounts, especially financial accounts, and be wary of phishing emails and smishing texts.

Hackers attacked the website and online application of PhilHealth on September 22, but the state-owned company stressed that its primary database was not infected.

Services and transactions of the state insurer were done offline for several days before its website was restored on September 29.

gsg/abc