MANILA - All prepaid SIM cards must be registered to mitigate the proliferation of SMS spam or smishing attacks, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Thursday.

“We know exactly what is wrong with the system. We need to require even those with prepaid cards to register. They have got to be registered. Our system is so loose that we don’t ask for the identity of the card holders," BSP Gov. Benjamin Diokno said in a forum.

Diokno also said cybercrimes are also "not totally unexpected" given the speed of digitalization which was amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although the rise in SMS spam "is not a major risk," the BSP said its supervised institutions should become more protective with their data privacy hygiene.

Regulators, along with the country's telcos, banks and e-commerce platforms are working together to curb the spread of SMS-related phishing activities.

The National Privacy Commission earlier said businesses' investments in cybersecurity should be equivalent to the amount of data they collect.

• Businesses urged to invest heavily in cybersecurity after S&R data breach
• SMS spam seen to lessen, as telcos intensify crackdown, says privacy watchdog

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