With the May 12 midterm elections just two months away, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) has issued a warning to the public against false claims of election result manipulation, stressing the complex nature of the automated election system (AES).
CICC executive director Alexander K. Ramos emphasized the intricacies of the AES, denying recent allegations that the system could be easily hacked. “The AES is too complex to be manipulated,” he said, urging the public to disregard misleading information.
Ramos’s warning came after Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairperson George Garcia filed a cyber libel complaint against a vice mayoral candidate in Reina Mercedes, Isabela. The complaint against lawyer Jeryll Harold Respicio who posted a video in January suggesting he could manipulate vote-counting machines and that backroom programs could alter election results.
Garcia’s complaint, filed with the Office of the City Prosecutor in Manila, accuses Respicio of violating Article 154 of the Revised Penal Code, in conjunction with Section 6 of the Cybercrime Prevention Act (RA 10175).
Ramos strongly criticized Respicio’s claims, stating, “He is completely clueless. His theories are so far off and offer misleading information. His insinuations are inconsistent with industry standards in cybersecurity.”
The CICC director further explained the AES’s multi-layered security system designed to safeguard election integrity. The first layer locks the machines to prevent tampering after programming. The second layer involves complex transmission protocols, where encrypted data passes through a seven-layer security system before being received by designated systems. The third layer is the consolidation server, which only accepts encrypted files, with the encryption keys securely stored by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
These security measures, according to Ramos, make the AES resistant to manipulation and ensure the integrity of the election results.
The CICC’s statement highlights the regulatory importance of holding individuals accountable for spreading false claims, especially as the country approaches a critical election period.
