Hackers deface NTC website to protest ‘unreliable’ internet service in PHL
The official website of Philippine regulatory agency National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) was defaced on Sunday by hackers who claim to be part of the "cyber army" Anonymous Philippines.
According to the hackers, they sympathize with Filipino netizens who have to endure the inefficient and “over promised, under delivered” system of internet service providers in the country
“We, as a country, suffer on the bottom of the internet pyramid having one of the lowest internet speeds while paying the same amount, or even higher, compared to other countries; adding DATA CAPPING to our "UNLIMITED" data plans sums up to our great burden as an avid follower of the internet - for studies and such,” reads the message that was superimposed on a black background with the hackers' logo, the familiar signature of Anonymous Philippines in several attacks on government websites in the past.
As of past 6 p.m., the site was not restored yet.
Also, the hackers demand fairness in charging and serving various data services.
They said, “We are asking for fairness in charging and serving our data services; Unlimited should be patterned to its name - "UNLIMITED"; not "UNLIMITED with 800MB cap". A 2MBPS speed should never be a 56kbps. A 98% service reliability should be always on the 98% part, not the 2% one.”
NTC's website defacement came days after the agency conducted an internet speed test on Wednesday to check if the actual speeds of local ISPs reflect what they promise in their advertisements.
One of the ISPs tested failed the test, while Globe and and Sky Broadband registered speeds that were not far from what they advertised and but still deemed compliant. PLDT's test result showed it exceeded its advertised internet speed.
Starting October, the NTC said it will be doing more monitoring of the internet speeds provided by various telecommunications companies in the country. — Bianca Rose Dabu/LBG, GMA News