NBI nabs suspected Anonymous hacker involved in defacing govt sites

Government authorities have arrested a suspect in the pork barrel-related defacement of 38 government websites on November 3.

 

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Thursday said the National Bureau of Investigators, which is under the Department of Justice, arrested Rodel Plasabas alias "Reaper," "anonymousbutuan," and "Anon Reaper" following a surveillance operation in Agusan del Norte. A search warrant had been issued against him for alleged violation of Republic Act 8792 or the e-Commerce Law.

 

"He was on line when the search warrant was issued. Initial check on his current chats indicated discussions on website hacks. Initial forensics were conducted," De Lima said.

 

The Justice chief said the suspect would presented for inquest before the Butuan City Prosecutors' Office.

 

The suspect is thought to be part of a hacker group that claimed having ties with the hacktivist collective Anonymous. The group had earlier called on the public to support a protest at the Batasang Pambansa on November 5.

 

The group is known for wearing Guy Fawkes masks, which originated from the character named V from the Alan Moore comic book V for Vendetta. In both the comic book and the movie, the character attacked government institutions to inspire England, then under a fascist rule, to revolt.

 

De Lima said even if the Cybercrime Prevention Law is currently unimplemented due to a temporary restraining order from the Supreme Court, the government can still prisecute offenders under the e-Commerce Law. 

 

"There is a particular provision Section 3 something sa e-Commerce Act on hacking so that is punishable. That is a criminal offense," she said.

 

De Lima said those found liable for the hacking would be ordered to pay a minimum of P100,000 fine and be imprisoned from six months to three years.

 

Hacker group Anonymous Philippines posted on its Facebook page a list of high-level government sites it defaced on Sunday. These included:

 

 

Also on the list of hacked sites were smaller government pages, most of them of local government units (LGUs):

 

 

— TJD, GMA News