GOVERNMENT AGENCIES received the most number of data breach notifications so far this year among sectors monitored by the National Privacy Commission (NPC).

Government data breaches accounted for 41 of the notifications received by the commission, Privacy Commissioner Raymund E. Liboro said in an online event Wednesday.

The health sector followed with 20 notifications, while education had 18. Transportation and logistics as well as outsourcing companies each had 14 notifications, while banks had 13.

Mr. Liboro said that 24 of the notifications involving government breaches are from malicious attacks such as hacking, while 12 were the result of human error. The rest are from system glitches, among other reasons.

“We continually build on this and improve on this because we want to build resilience sa lahat ng ating (among all our) institutions,” he said.

He added that technology and data will be instrumental in addressing the pandemic, noting that the pandemic exposed gaps in Philippine data management.

The commission is investigating a website that claimed to be associated with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) for possible breach of personal information of registered motorists. The NPC said it is preparing a cease and desist order to take down the site, after the LTO confirmed that the website lisensya.info is not officially connected with the LTO.

The NPC last month also flagged lapses in data privacy standards in the health sector, particularly its management of contact-tracing information during the pandemic.

In the 10 months to October, 64% of breaches in the health industry were caused by human error.

In contrast, human error accounted for 39% of breaches among all sectors monitored, making it the second-highest source of data breaches after malicious attacks, with 48%. — Jenina P. Ibañez