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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Millions of attempts' from hackers to deface House website--Velasco 

'Millions of attempts' from hackers to deface House website--Velasco 

Published Feb 5, 2024 05:18 am

At A Glance

  • Hackers have been very aggressive in their attempt to deface the online assets of the House of Representatives, if information technology (IT) experts from the institution are to be believed. 

Screenshot_20240205_114014_Viber.jpgHouse Secretary General Reginald Velasco (Contributed photo)

Hackers have been very aggressive in their attempt to deface the online assets of the House of Representatives, if information technology (IT) experts from the institution are to be believed.

According to House Secretary General Reginald Velasco, there have been "millions of attempts" to hack into the House's website, among other assets.

"We are not so happy with this attacks on this website. According to our IT group there have been, I dont know if i will believe them, but millions of attempts to deface to hack our data, so there is really a cyber threat against the House of Representatives," Velasco told reporters Monday morning, Feb. 5.

"Not just the websites but the data, data that we have to protect," he noted.

Earlier Monday, House Speaker Martin Romualdez sought an "urgent meeting" with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) regarding the recent cybersecurity breaches in government agencies.

“I express deep concern regarding the recent cybersecurity breaches in government agencies, as reported by the DICT. The revelation that hackers, suspected to be operating from China, have infiltrated the email systems and internal websites of various government agencies, is a matter of national security and public interest,” Romualdez said.

In response to the cyber threat, Velasco said that the House has beefed up its cybersecurity. "We’re planning to get a third party to help us secure our IT system."

He says the coverage of the security includes "The whole IT network in the House of Representatives, including media, yung mga cellphones niyo, mga data niyo (your cellphones and your data)".

"Today kasi hacking is almost a regular activity," he added.

Related Tags

reginald velasco House of Representatives Hackers
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