Converge app hit by data breach

MANILA, Philippines — Internet service provider Converge ICT Solutions Inc. said its GoFiber app has been compromised by a data breach, affecting a small portion of its customer base.

In a statement yesterday, Converge data protection officer Laurice Tuason said the company’s GoFiber app was hit by a data breach involving the personal information of its customers, where unauthorized third parties attempted to view certain account details of other subscribers.

The National Privacy Commission said it is looking into the data breach initially reported by Converge on March 4, NPC public information officer Ehver Espejo said.

“It is under evaluation by the NPC’s compliance and monitoring team,” Espejo said.

Tuason said the company’s investigation showed that it is an “isolated incident” and a small portion of its customer base was affected.

Apart from the potential unauthorized viewing of the personal information, Tuason said there is “no evidence to date that any personally identifiable information has been misused.”

According to Converge, next higher level of improvement was immediately instituted upon discovery of the data breach.

“Based on our records, no further personally identifiable information was compromised after implementing the additional security measures,” Tuason said.

Converge assured users of the GoFiber app that they can only access their personal information linked to their own accounts.

It said notifications have been sent to the NPC and the affected customers, in compliance with the Data Privacy Act of 2012.

“We apologize to our customers who were affected by this incident and the concern that this may have caused the public,” Tuason said.

“Kindly ensure that you take the necessary steps to securely log in to your GoFiber app. Keep your security details to yourself and never give out your OTP (one time password) and other information through e-mail or SMS,” she added.

Converge has committed to continue employing the most advanced security measures to safeguard its network and systems.

“The company is firmly committed to protecting customer information and upholding privacy rights,” Converge said.