Philippines concerned over data breach risk at passport printer
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) of the Philippines on Thursday said they're really concerned over the data breach at APO Production Unit – a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) in charge of printing passports.
A Philippine passport being printed is seen in this undated photo on the APO Production Unit's website. Photo courtesy of philstar.com.
During a Senate finance subcommittee hearing on the agency's proposed budget for 2025, DFA Office of Consular Affairs Assistant Secretary Adelio Cruz said that the data of 28 million passport holders may have been compromised.
He cited several incidents in which APO's data and system were allegedly breached.
Cruz also took note of the data from different government agencies being hacked, even as some were sold on the deep web.
APO is under the Presidential Communications Office, now led by former journalist Cesar Chavez.
Cruz said the DFA is working on securing a cybersecurity system for all passport data.
He said the DFA is very concerned with the security of the data and they are seriously looking into the possibility of employing a cybersecurity system for all of their passport data.
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