MISAMIS ORIENTAL (PIA)--Following the implementation of Republic Act (RA) No. 11934, or better known as the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Registration Act, last December 27, 2022, the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT)-10 reassures the general public that the process of registering is secure due to the database encryption security measures emplaced by telco providers and safety protocols by the government during "Talakayan sa PIA," February 7.

"There is a database nga ginahimo sa atoang mga (that is created by our) telcos, which are secured. And aside from the security features, one of the things that our secretary mentioned is to make sure that the data in these databases is encrypted that even if it is hacked, even if makuha ang (one would take away the) data, as long as the data is encrypted, it will be difficult for these criminals to de-encrypt the information and get the data they need," DICT-10 Information Technology Officer and Cyber Security Focal Person Acmilah M. Macabuat said.

Macabuat disclosed that aside from coordinating with monitoring agencies such as the National Computer Response Team and Cyber Security Incident Coordination Center, they are also working with the National Privacy Commission on the provisions of complying with data breach manual response, which led to the creation of a team that monitors the systems and reports security incidents so that they can conduct mitigation measures to further strengthen data security.

Even though telcos and the government have put security measures in place to protect data, the DICT-10 reminds people that they are also responsible for protecting their own data by not letting unknown people help them register their sim. This is because the process requires them to enter personal information and government-issued ID cards.

The DICT-10 and local government units (LGUs) have SIM card caravans that are willing to explain the process of how to register but are not allowed to input the data itself for those who are not well versed in the digital process.

"We have personnel who will tell us [the users] what to do but not really do it for them. Ikaw mismo ang mag-type sa information ug magpakita sa [ID] card (you will personally type your information and show your ID card)," she said.

As of February 6, a total of 29,708,935, or 17.58%, of the 168,977,773 subscribers nationwide had registered SIM cards. DICT urges the public to register their sim card before the April 26 deadline and avoid system traffic during the final day of sim registration. (JAKA/PIA-10/Misamis Oriental)