Despite the alleged security breach, the software provider Smartmatic Inc. on Monday assured the public that the upcoming national and local elections would remain 100% safe and secure.
During a House hearing, Smartmatic Legal Counsel Christopher Louie Ocampo said the source code and software of the Automated Election System (AES), which was controlled by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), had been subjected to extensive audits, both locally and internationally.
Ocampo also emphasized that Comelec’s own servers and infrastructure are separate and distinct from theirs.
“Comelec’s servers and infrastructure are never connected to Smartmatic’s servers and infrastructure. The poll body never shares electoral data with Smartmatic, a fact that Comelec has affirmed and reaffirmed time and again,” Ocampo said.
“Also, Comelec has already informed the public that its system is secure and there is no hacking or penetration into their system,” he added.
Ocampo noted that no hacking took place in their own system and that their former employee is completely unrelated to the Philippine elections.
"He downloaded non-sensitive, day-to-day operational materials from a repository readily available to all Smartmatic staff," he said.
On the other hand, Comelec Commissioner George Garcia said the poll body should not be dragged on the issue of an alleged security breach, saying that Smartmatic has its own procedure when it comes to their employees.
He also clarified that not all of the reported 5,992,763 printed ballots are totally defective.
As of Monday, Garcia said the Comelec had identified 105,853 purely defective ballots.
Some senators have earlier expressed concern over the reported breach involving Smartmatic. Among them were Senate President Vicente Sotto III, who is running for vice president, and Sen. Imee Marcos.
