The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has taken its LTRFB Electronic Support System (LESS) offline after confirming a data breach, suspending all services and transactions handled through the platform until further notice.
The agency said the incident affected the LESS data environment, although it has yet to determine what information was compromised and the number of records potentially exposed.
“The incident generally affected the LESS data environment; however, the specific data involved and the full extent of the impact remain subject to technical validation,” the LTFRB said in a public advisory.
The confirmation came after a transport-sector coalition sought an investigation into two alleged cybersecurity incidents involving the agency, including a claim that 16 million records had been exposed.
A report by cybersecurity news site Deep Web Konek said a threat actor using the name “core849” claimed to have obtained 7.7 gigabytes of LTFRB data containing personnel records, vehicle registration information, and franchise and operator records. The claim followed a separate alleged incident in August involving a group calling itself “Quantum Security Group.”
The authenticity and origin of the purportedly leaked data had not been independently confirmed when Coalition 169 called on the Department of Transportation and LTFRB to release a technical report.
The LTFRB advisory did not say whether the confirmed breach was connected to either of the previously reported incidents or whether the claim involving 16 million records was accurate.
The agency said it was coordinating with the Department of Information and Communications Technology, Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center, National Privacy Commission, and other technical experts to investigate the incident and determine whether the system could be safely restored.
“The LTFRB assures the public that the situation is being addressed with utmost urgency and that all necessary measures are being taken to safeguard the LESS and the information entrusted to the agency,” it said.
The LTFRB did not provide a timetable for restoring LESS services or indicate whether affected individuals would be notified.
It apologized for the disruption and said further updates would be issued once verified information became available.
