Smartmatic denies data breach, says 2022 polls safe

Smartmatic has denied allegations of a personal data breach, stating their contract is solely to provide the automated election system for the May 2022 polls and they are not involved in processing or storing voter personal data.

A Smartmatic employee involved in the alleged security breach is in the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

However, PPCRV National Trustee/Secretary Dr. Arwin Serrano stated that the alleged breach, involving personal files of some Comelec officials and their engagement activities with Smartmatic, had nothing to do with the 2022 elections.

Smartmatic spokesperson Atty. Christopher Louie Ocampo assured the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms that the 2022 elections would remain 100 percent safe and secure despite the alleged breach.

Ocampo emphasized that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) wholly governs and controls the source code and software of the Automated Election System (AES), and that Comelec's servers are separate from Smartmatic's.

He further stated that Comelec has informed the public that its system is secure and has been affirmed by the NBI, adding that Smartmatic's system was not hacked.