The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has temporarily shut down its Electronic Support System (LESS) after detecting a data breach, putting all transactions dependent on the platform on hold until further notice.
The LTFRB shuts LESS system after data breach comes as the agency works to determine what information, if any, was compromised and how extensive the incident may be.
In an advisory, the LTFRB said it took LESS offline as a precaution while authorities investigate the breach and assess the security of the system.
“As a precautionary measure, LESS was temporarily taken offline. Consequently, all LESS-related services and transactions are suspended until further notice,” the agency said.
The suspension could affect stakeholders and businesses that rely on LESS for transactions with the transport regulator. The LTFRB has not yet provided a timeline for the restoration of services.
The agency said it is coordinating with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), and other technical experts as it investigates the incident and works on system recovery.
The LTFRB is also coordinating with the National Privacy Commission (NPC), which oversees compliance with the country’s data privacy law and personal data breach concerns.
As of the latest advisory, the LTFRB has not disclosed the number of individuals potentially affected, the specific types of information involved, the cause of the breach, or whether personal data was actually accessed or extracted.
The agency said it is taking measures to protect the LESS platform and information entrusted to it while technical teams validate the incident.
Further updates are expected once authorities establish the scope of the breach and determine when LESS can safely resume operations.
