NBI’s Successful SIM Registration Using Monkey’s Picture Shows Flaws in SIM Registration System

A picture of a smiling monkey is all it takes to highlight flaws in the SIM registration system of the country following the move of the Philippines to have SIM numbers registered.

The hijacking of the SIM registration system was shown by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in a Senate hearing on the continued text scams that has been rampant in the country despite efforts to link personal information to phone numbers.

NBI’s cybercrime chief Jeremy Lotoc highlighted the issue in a video shown during the Senate hearing, where the state investigation bureau’s agents were shown registering a SIM using a fake PhilHealth ID on Globe’s SIM registration portal.

The fake PhilHealth ID featured a picture of a grinning monkey, which alarmingly went through the verification process successfully, highlighting a possible major problem in the system where individuals with negative intentions may bypass the verification process and use the SIM for scamming purposes while still having it registered.

Senator Grace Poe expressed her dismay with the revelation, labeling the incident an “insult” to the law’s enforcement. She highlighted the need for enhanced technology and stricter regulations in light of the ever-evolving landscape of cybercrime.

“All of us here are playing catch-up with technology. We have to keep updating because it is frustrating, and it is adding insult to injury that a smiling monkey can register a SIM card,” Senator Poe said.

Senator Poe added that the incident could have been prevented had telecommunication companies approved the inclusion of facial recognition technology in the SIM Registration Act’s implementing rules and regulations such as those used when opening an account in digital banks and e-wallets.

Globe head of Policy Division, Corporate, and Legal Services Group Ariel Tubayan denied the telecommunication company’s opposition to the inclusion of facial recognition technology in SIM registering but acknowledged the lapses.

Tubayan suggested that telecommunication companies be given access to the biometric database of the National ID System for ID verification purposes.

Meanwhile, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said that having a post-validation mechanism of the registration of SIMs should be established in order to avoid this in the future.
“There should be some form of post-validation if it’s not automatic. ‘Yung monkey example is bastusan talaga. There should be at least some form of validation so we can establish who is accountable for that post-validation. We cannot allow horses, monkeys, and gorillas to be registered. We have to do something. If we are not going to do something, this will happen over and over again,” he said. (GFB)