Palace to hackers: Don't deface Open Data website

In what may be seen as either a hat tip to the capabilities of Pinoy hackers or a roundabout admission of its own cybersecurity situation, Malacañang on Monday asked that no attempts be made to deface its flagship Open Data Philippines website.

 

In a press conference, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said that the website—a publicly-accessible repository of government data—is a valuable resource, and hacking it would be a disservice to the public.

 

"We have in place security aspects... na as usual, hopefully, huwag sana hong i-deface naman ng mga kaibigan [natin na] hacker," presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said during a press conference. 

 

Just last November, Anonymous hackers defaced a slew of government websites in protest against the government's supposed shortcomings. The hacks also served to highlight the apparent inadequacy of the government's cybersecurity defenses.

 

Hacking: Against Filipinos' interests

 

But Lacierda said that Open Data Philippines (www.data.gov.ph), launched last week, is a much-needed public service that will provide free access to an array of government data.

 

"Open Data is your data. This is the public’s data about you, so I don’t think it’s in the interest of the Filipinos to damage the information that we have. This is intended to make more intelligent and more participative and to make the Filipino public partners in governance," he said.

 

"We give data, at the same time, we empower the people to look upon the data and find solutions also in the local level. This is something that we have always advocated. The President has always said that there will be access to information," he added.

 

Because of this, the Palace official said he was saddened to hear the negative feedback to the website when foreign observers are supposedly praising the Philippines for it.

 

"Sa abroad, ang laki ng pagpupuri sa Pilipinas: ‘Ay, salamat nagbukas na ang isang… Another country opened up their data to the public.’ But dito sa Pilipinas medyo negative po ‘yung dating po ng Open Data," he said.

 

Not a substitute to FOI

 

Despite the buildup for Open Data, Lacierda clarified that it is "not a substitute to [the Freedom of Information Bill]." 

 

"Open Data is supply-driven; FOI is demand-driven. At some point, they may intersect so that some of the questions that FOI advocates might be asking will be uploaded, and you don’t need to ask, but at some point there might be still questions," he said.

 

However, he reiterated the executive branch's "hands-off" stand on the passage of the FOI bill, particularly with regard to certifying the urgency of the measure.

 

He explained that legislators have been unable to pass the legislation because of privacy concerns, although saying they are not "afraid of any secrets."

 

"In fact, lahat naman ngayon na mga issues, nilalabas naman namin, and we’re very open about it," he said. — TJD, GMA News