Comelec to Review Contract with Smartmatic After Alleged Breach
The Commission on Elections has called for a review of its contract with Smartmatic after a "very serious breach" allegedly occurred on the part of the technology provider , a poll official said Thursday.
The Comelec en banc directed the poll body's law department to review the contract with Smartmatic and "advise the courses of action to be taken by the Commission," Comelec chairperson Saidamen Pangarungan said in a statement.
It also ordered Comelec executive director Bartolome Sinocruz Jr. to coordinate with the NBI on its investigation and demand Smartmatic to submit a report on its internal investigation.
While the Comelec maintained that it has not fallen victim to any attack that will result in a security breach, such allegations will not be taken lightly, Pangarungan said.
"Serious allegations of violations and indiscretion of Comelec providers will be stringently addressed by this Commission," he added.
Senators earlier claimed that an employee of Smartmatic let a certain group of individuals copy information from the technology firm, resulting in the breach. Such information was made available to lawmakers after a closed-door meeting with concerned agencies.
"We have to admit that a very serious breach occurred. It may not be technically hacking. However, we feel that it compromises the processes and operations of Smartmatic in very serious ways," said Sen. Imee Marcos, who heads the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms and People's Participation.
A Manila Bulletin report earlier claimed that Comelec's servers had been hacked, resulting in the downloading of sensitive information that could affect the 2022 elections, which the poll body refuted.
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