BOC ramps up cybersecurity after other agencies’ data breach

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Customs (BOC) is strengthening its cybersecurity efforts to ensure that it will not fall victim to a data breach as other government agencies have in recent weeks.

In a recent memorandum, officer-in-charge deputy commissioner for management information system and technology Kriden Balgomera reminded BOC officials and employees to take extra precautions in safeguarding agency data.

Balgomera emphasized that the rise of spoofing and phishing attacks poses a huge risk to the BOC and its sensitive information.

As the second largest revenue agency, the BOC is mandated to deliver financial resources to fund the government’s programs and projects.BOC employees and officials are asked to be aware of threats and take proactive measures to safeguard the revenue agency’s data, privacy and overall security.

“By increasing our awareness and vigilance, we can significantly reduce the risks associated with these threats,” Balgomera said.

He explained that BOC officials and employees must be careful of spoofing attacks which could be done via display name, lookalike domains or legitimate domain spoofing.

The BOC also listed possible red flags that may signal spoofing or phishing attempts, including unsolicited emails from unknown or unexpected sources, generic greetings and urgent language that is used to pressure victims into making hasty decisions.

Other red flags to watch out for include suspicious links, malicious attachments that may contain malware and personal information requests like passwords, social security numbers and credit card details.

Further, the BOC called on its officials and employees to report any suspicious email or message received, as well as verify certain messages.

“When in doubt, contact the supposed sender through official channels to verify authenticity,” BOC said.

It also reminded employees to ensure that their computers have updated anti-virus and anti-malware software.

They should also enable two-factor authentication wherever possible to add an extra layer of security in their accounts.Earlier this month, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. suffered from the Medusa ransomware attack where personal data of members were stolen.

A week later, the Philippine Statistics Authority experienced a data breach on its community-based monitoring system.