While displaying the badge is now optional, existing BIR registration, tax filing, and other compliance obligations remain in effect.

BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza said the agency will review the policy and coordinate with the National Privacy Commission and stakeholders.

The decision follows concerns over data privacy, technical issues, and compliance burdens raised by lawmakers and affected taxpayers.

Under Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 113-2026, the requirement is suspended until further notice, with no penalties for non-display during the suspension period.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) suspended the mandatory display of its Registration Seal Badge for online sellers, content creators, freelancers, and other covered digital taxpayers on October 26.

The company said it blocked the access, fixed the identified vulnerability, and began notifying affected customers, but the number of records involved and the full scope of the exposure remain undisclosed.

Keystone Hardware Wallet disclosed on October 24 that a third party obtained customer shipping and order information through unauthorized access to its official website.

The incident highlights a supply-chain security risk: even when a hardware wallet’s core security component remains intact, unauthorized physical modifications can introduce separate mechanisms for capturing and transmitting sensitive information.

Once attackers obtained a wallet’s 24-word recovery phrase, they could use it to reconstruct the wallet elsewhere and access its assets.

This gave the implant an independent communications channel, allowing it to send data without relying on the user’s computer, phone, or Wi-Fi network.

The hardware implants identified in the CryptoBilis-linked Ledger incident reportedly used an embedded SIM and cellular communications module to transmit captured recovery phrases.

Netflix’s eight-episode limited series The Altruists, premiering November 19, dramatizes the rise and fall of FTX and its affiliated trading firm, Alameda Research. Starring Anthony Boyle as Bankman-Fried and Julia Garner as former Alameda co-CEO Caroline Ellison.

DOST and CHED are planning regional SIBOL platforms to bring technology development and commercialization closer to researchers, farmers, entrepreneurs, and local markets.

Anthropic says operators used Claude to build more than 1,000 fake X accounts, a fake news site, and targeted political content aimed at Malaysian voters.

The U.S. Senate’s failure to advance the CLARITY Act has not slowed U.S. efforts to build blockchain-based infrastructure for tokenized securities and financial markets.

DragonFi Securities will begin a controlled rollout of its proposed global-investment offering using over-the-counter depositary receipts (OTC DRs), which represent pre-approved U.S. equities and ETFs within a Philippine-regulated framework.

Crypto exchange Bitget confirmed unauthorized transfers totaling about $351.6 million from portions of its hot and warm wallets on September 24. The exchange said its cold wallets were not compromised, trading and deposits remained operational, and the loss is fully covered.

The House of Representatives has called on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to appear at a hearing on social media safety, amid concerns over Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) and Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Materials (CSAEM) on Meta platforms.

Revolut said it disclosed data to an unauthorized third party after receiving fraudulent information requests from an account on a legitimate government agency domain.

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) is easing its Sponsor Model rules to allow early-stage, high-growth companies in sectors such as AI, fintech, and data centers to tap the equities market.