COMELEC Data Breach
Status: Confirmed
Breach Intelligence Summary
Entity: COMELEC · Actor: Unknown · Source: Have I Been Pwned / ObscureIQ intelligence
Attack: Data Exfiltration via Under investigation
Timeline: Breach (Mar, 2016) · Reported (Apr, 2016) · Leak (4/14/16)
Exposure: 229K+ records · Biometric data, Dates of birth, Email, Family members’ names, Genders, Job titles, Marital statuses, Names, Passport numbers, Phone numbers, Physical addresses, Physical attributes
Status: Confirmed · Risk: High (Document fraud + Phishing / SIM swap)
Summary
In March 2016 the Philippines Commission of Elections website (COMELEC) was attacked and defaced allegedly by Anonymous Philippines. Shortly after data on 55 million Filipino voters was leaked publicly and included sensitive information such as genders marital statuses, height and weight and biometric fingerprint data. The breach only included 228k email addresses.
About COMELEC
COMELEC is the organization affected by this breach. User data may have been generated through account creation, service usage, or business operations.
If you have interacted with COMELEC in any capacity, your data may be included in this breach.
Threat Actor: Unknown
The threat actor responsible for this breach has not been publicly identified or confirmed at this time.
- Under investigation
Breach Exploitation Status
High
Status
Detected
Possible
Detected
Unknown
Unknown
Indefinite (critical identifiers)
SSNs and government IDs never expire. This data can be used for identity theft years or decades after exposure.
Data Points Exposed
Dark Web Verification
Status: Confirmed
- Dataset containing approximately 229K+ records has been identified in breach intelligence sources.
- The data is indexed and searchable across breach notification platforms.
Impact
This breach carries high risk due to the nature of exposed data fields and the scale of affected records.
- Targeted phishing referencing COMELEC accounts or services
- SIM-swap attempts where phone numbers are present
- Physical mail scams and address-based identity verification fraud
- Age/DOB used to bypass identity verification questions
- Data broker enrichment and resale
Recommendations for Impacted Individuals
If you believe your information may be included:
Non-clients may request a breach impact review.
COMELEC account updates
Password reset requests
Verify directly through official channels.
Email compromise is often the first pivot point.
Frequently Asked Questions
In Mar, 2016, COMELEC experienced a data breach that resulted in the exposure of approximately 229K+ records containing personal information.
The exposed data includes Biometric data, Dates of birth, Email, Family members’ names, Genders, Job titles, Marital statuses, Names, Passport numbers, Phone numbers, Physical addresses, Physical attributes.
Approximately 229K+ records were affected based on current breach intelligence.
Yes. This breach is treated as confirmed based on data observed in breach intelligence platforms.
Data circulation has been detected across breach-sharing channels. Downstream exploitation risk exists based on the nature of the exposed fields.
Rotate passwords associated with COMELEC, enable multi-factor authentication on email and financial accounts, and monitor for suspicious activity.
Protect Yourself
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Corporate Accountability
Organizations that collect personal data have a duty to implement reasonable safeguards and to notify affected individuals when breaches occur.
Scope assessments may evolve as investigations continue. Users should not rely solely on early estimates when making risk decisions.
ObscureIQ Advisory
We combine proprietary dark web access with commercial and restricted breach intelligence to verify exposure and assess real-world risk.
- A public-facing individual
- A high-profile executive
- A customer of COMELEC
- Or simply concerned about credential reuse
We can confirm whether your information is circulating and evaluate downstream threat vectors.