Dear privacy pros,

Greetings!

The Philippines National Privacy Commission is conducting an investigation into the incidents of hacking of individual user accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo and Wattpad, as well as some websites operated by public and private organizations. The legal provisions require personal information controllers to report within 72 hours upon discovery of the data breach regarding its scope, nature and extent.

Additionally, the Department of Information Communications Technology indicated its Cybersecurity Bureau implemented measures to limit damage from the incident. “The Bureau learned from its cyber-intelligence platform and social media page that there is an impending attack, which is why the national computer emergency response team (CERT-PH) was able to proactively defend and inform agencies, thus damage was controlled. The team also opened all communication channels 24/7 should the agencies require any assistance,” DICT Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies Allan Cabanlong said.

Meanwhile, in New Zealand, Privacy Commissioner John Edwards sharpened his criticism of Facebook in the wake of the horrific Christchurch attacks last month. His criticism was in response to an ABC interview with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg about the platform’s livestreaming technology.

I realize this hasn’t been a week filled with too many privacy highlights compared to recent weeks. But maybe that’s a good thing, right?

Best,
Rahul