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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Hackers want to show off their skills': Gov't websites 'always' vulnerable to cybercrime, CICC official says

'Hackers want to show off their skills': Gov't websites 'always' vulnerable to cybercrime, CICC official says

Published Feb 29, 2024 06:45 am

The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), on Thursday, Feb. 29, confirmed that all the government agencies are “always” targets for hackers.

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The CICC, an attached agency of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), emphasized that these cyberattacks are ways for hackers to "test" their capabilities.

"All government sites are always a prey for cybercrime. They are really being tested because usually, hackers want to show off their skills," CICC Deputy Executive Director Assistant Secretary Mary Rose Magsaysay said in a televised public briefing.

"Sometimes, it is done by one person, sometimes it is done by a group, and sometimes it is done by a bigger organization," she added in a mix of English and Filipino.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), the most recent target of a cyberattack, was able to take back control of their compromised Facebook account on Thursday.

In a social media post PCG Spokesperson CG Rear Admiral Armando Balilo underscored that the DICT, CICC, PCG Weapons, Communications, Electronics, and Information Systems Command worked with the Coast Guard Public Affairs Service (CGPAS) "in conducting backend operations, leading to the discovery and removal of three hackers with Facebook names: Fatima Hasan, Murat Kansu, and Vicky Bates."

READ:

https://mb.com.ph/2024/2/29/pcg-regains-control-of-its-hacked-facebook-page

The PCG's account was victimized on Feb. 26, and the CICC confirmed that the hackers have utilized malware to breach the Facebook page's security.

READ:

https://mb.com.ph/2024/2/26/hacked-again-pcg-facebook-page-posts-unusual-movie-tv-clips

Cybercrime report received within 30 minutes

Magsaysay explained the agency's efforts, emphasizing that for every cybercrime report they receive, they can get it within 30 minutes.

"With regard to the hacking, in the breaches, we get it within 30 minutes actually; it's just that we might not immediately update about it," she said.

"We get it in the middle of the night, we pass it on to our able analysts in the CICC and everybody, usually on top of things," she added.

Moreover, she said that since the government websites are always subject to cyber attack, "the Philippine Government doesn't sleep."

"In fact, it operates 24/7, 365 (days), and the DICT-CICC, the cybersecurity bureau, is in charge," the official said.

"We have a national CERT in charge of all this," she added.

Magsaysay also highlighted that 100 percent of reported cybercrime cases on their hotline 1326, always end up being solved.

Related Tags

Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) cicc PCG cyber attack
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