ELECTRONIC WALLET giant GCash announced on Sunday it had fixed the system issues that caused missing funds and unauthorized transactions for some users.
“GCash has completed the necessary wallet adjustments to its affected users,” GCash said in a statement.
“Rest assured that customer accounts are safe, and customer account security will always be our top priority,” it added.
This announcement followed reports on Saturday of missing funds and unauthorized transactions, which GCash attributed to its ongoing system reconciliation process.
The company has not yet disclosed the number of users impacted by the system issue.
The incident is being investigated, according to Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Undersecretary Jeffrey Ian C. Dy.
“I spoke with GCash and asked them if this was a hacking incident or a cybersecurity incident and if they need the assistance of the National Computer Emergency Response Team. They assured us that it was not, but the DICT is investigating the issue,” he said in a phone interview on Sunday.
Digital Pinoys national campaigner Ronald B. Gustilo said that appropriate measures should be considered.
“This issue has been long-running, and it seems that despite previous complaints, it has remained unresolved. This is alarming for consumers who put their trust in e-wallet providers to secure their funds. The funds lost due to unauthorized transactions should be returned immediately,” he said in a Viber message.
“GCash is very big right now, and if they are affected, it is a concern for the Republic. We will investigate this issue. But I think for the penalty, we should ask the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, but that would depend on the results of the investigation if we found negligence on their part,” DICT’s Mr. Dy said, noting that the department is also willing to help strengthen GCash’s cybersecurity.
Mr. Gustilo said that while returning the lost money due to unauthorized transactions is important, it may not fully address the inconvenience experienced by affected account holders.
“GCash needs to show two things in this incident: transparency and accountability. As a leader in their industry, how GCash will handle this current issue will be one of their defining moments,” Sam Jacoba, founding president of the National Association of Data Protection Officers of the Philippines, said in a Viber message.
Mr. Dy also said that as e-wallets are increasingly becoming an alternative to traditional banks and are preferred by many users, GCash should enhance its security measures.
“They should also invest heavily in their processes and their technology not only for security because if it is true that this is due to reconciliation of accounts, they should make sure that this does not happen again,” he said. — Ashley Erika O. Jose
