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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider No proof PCG Facebook hacking connected to West Philippine Sea; US Embassy helping to regain control of account

No proof PCG Facebook hacking connected to West Philippine Sea; US Embassy helping to regain control of account

Published Feb 28, 2024 09:47 am

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) would not link the hacking of its Facebook account to its aggressive maritime patrol in the West Philippine Sea.

PCG spokesman Rear Admiral Armand Balilo said the investigation is still ongoing with the assistance from the IT experts from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT), and even the US Embassy. 

“We have no strong evidence to support that conclusion. It would be better if we would wait for the result of the investigation and hopefully we could pinpoint whoever is behind this to the Philippine Coast Guard,” said Balilo during the Bangon Pilipinas briefing.

This is the third time that the PCG social media accounts were hacked—the first was its website and the second was its X (formerly Twitter) account.

The PCG’s website and X accounts were immediately restored and so far, this is not the case with its Facebook account as Balilo said they are still working with experts to regain control of it since the hacking on Monday, Feb. 26. 

Based on the initial data, he said the hacker has been only posting movie clips. 

Balilo also stressed that there was no sensitive data that was compromised as a result of the hacking.

“These are all public posts so there were no sensitive documents that were compromised. What we are concerned of is that the hacker may upload disinformation or lewd materials,” said Balilo.

Asked of the possible motive, Balilo said those responsible could be an ordinary hacker who just happened to focus on the PCG Facebook page.

 

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