Protecting data privacy

The series of hacking incidents and cyberattacks on several government portals has stirred up fears about the security of the personal data we've handed over to state agencies in their bid to digitize all aspects of governance. The hacking by the clandestine group Medusa of the computers of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. late last month affected the accounts of 13 to 20 million PhilHealth members, making it the largest breach of government data since the Commission on Elections' "Comeleak" incident in 2016. Earlier, in April, the Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Internal Revenue, and Special Action Force also experienced a data breach. This was followed by a cyberattack on the Department of Science and Technology's OneExpert portal on Aug. 31. Last week, the Philippine Statistics Authority said it was investigating a reported data breach o...