PCSO Denounces Alleged Data Breach as Fabricated Story

MANILA – The head of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), Mel Robles, has firmly rejected claims spread across social media that the agency suffered a data breach. Robles labeled the reports as ‘fake news’ and assured the public that no such incident occurred. He emphasized that no breach or hacking attempt on PCSO’s systems was successful, and thus, no report was made to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT). A group named Philippines Exodus Security had claimed on a social media platform that they accessed profiles of thousands of lotto winners from 2016 to 2025, including sensitive personal information. The group criticized PCSO for not taking security seriously. Robles countered these claims, suggesting that the accusations were made by individuals aiming to discredit the integrity of PCSO’s operations. He highlighted the agency’s robust digital defenses against global hacking attempts. Robles also clarified that the information shared by the group was merely a list of participants in a promotional event at a PCSO branch, not actual winners’ data. He confirmed that the lotto jackpot winners’ database remains secure at the head office, with no connection to branch offices, and no compromise detected on any PCSO websites.