St. Luke’s Medical Center reports personal data breach

MANILA, Philippines — The National Privacy Commission (NPC) said on Tuesday that it is reviewing the personal data breach notification submitted by St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) about a cybersecurity incident that may have compromised the personal information of some patients and employees.

NPC spokesperson and Deputy Privacy Commissioner Jose Belarmino II said the commission received the notification from the hospital on Oct. 30, the same day SLMC announced the data breach.

The NPC review is part of the commission’s procedures for handling such reports.

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“At this stage, we are unable to disclose further details as the matter undergoes the commission’s regular evaluation process,” Belarmino said in a statement.

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SLMC, which runs hospitals in Quezon City and Global City, Taguig, said in an Oct. 30 statement that it had detected unauthorized access to a platform supporting its mobile application, which is managed by a third-party service provider.

The hospital said it immediately took its mobile application offline and engaged cybersecurity experts to investigate the incident.

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In a statement on Monday, Nov. 2, SLMC said it was notifying patients whose personal information may have been affected by the incident.

It added that hospital operations remain unaffected by the breach, including its electronic medical records, which contain the medical data of patients, including information about the care they receive.

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The hospital, meanwhile, urged the public to remain cautious of communications requesting personal information, saying it would not make such requests. /cb