Globe asks NTC for 72 hours to observe SIM registration portal

Globe Telecom Inc. has asked the National Telecommunications Commission for a maximum of 72 hours from Tuesday to observe its SIM registration portal to make sure "all patches made are technically stable."

Globe earlier said it made its SIM registration portal new.globe.com.ph/simreg "temporarily inaccessible" to ensure a better registration experience for its customers.

In a statement, Globe said it had informed the NTC about the issue on its SIM registration portal. 

"These issues prompted Globe to take proactive measures to make the site temporarily inaccessible as customer data security is paramount and any problem detected is treated with the utmost severity," Globe said.

"In light of this development, Globe has requested the NTC for a maximum of 72 hours from today to observe our SIM registration portal to ensure all patches made are technically stable," it added.

Globe said it was taking full responsibility for the actions it took and was prepared to accept "any regulatory penalty if merited, in order to prioritize the protection of its customers' data."

"Globe asks its customers for patience and understanding given this unprecedented and massive IT deployment," Globe said.

"We wish to assure our customers that Globe is doing its best to deliver a SIM registration platform that provides a good digital experience for customers, that is also secure and safe," it added.

Before the portal was made inaccessible, Globe said it was able to register 20,000 customers.

“Globe is committed to make SIM registration easy and convenient for its 87.9 million customers. However, it is very unfortunate that we discovered potential minor vulnerabilities in our microsite that require careful patching in order to prevent any serious threat to customer data,” the telco said.

“We take this very seriously hence even minor issues are given utmost attention. This happened despite all the preparation, technical tests and due diligence we have conducted,” it added.

Globe asked its customers for "patience and understanding given this unprecedented and massive IT deployment."

"We wish to assure our customers that Globe is doing its best to deliver a SIM registration platform that provides a good digital experience for customers, that is also secure and safe,” Globe said.

“We will continue to provide regular updates on the SIM registration of our customers,” it added. —NB, GMA Integrated News