Hackers deface PNRI website, claim to ‘support’ PNoy

Hackers hit another government website before dawn Monday, leaving behind a message of "support" for President Benigno Aquino III hours before he was to deliver his second State of the Nation Address. Defaced on Monday was the site of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, which "white-hat" hacker group Philker defaced last June. "Go PNoy. You can do it," one of several popup messages said when visitors tried to access the PNRI website as of 4 a.m. Monday. Other popup messages included "shouts" to hacker groups PrivateX, Philkers, Blackrain, and MjM. Visitors were forced to click on the sites before they could proceed to the PNRI site. The messages suggested a teamup between PrivateX - which had hit at least two government websites last weekend - and Philker, a Filipino hacker group that hit several Philippine websites last June. After clicking on the popup messages, visitors were brought to a defaced page bearing the logos of PrivateX and Philker, with music in the background. On the page was a message that claimed "Nothing was harmed... except your pride." "Corruption, lack of education, and lack of opportunity causes poverty," it added, and hinted at a page where the hackers leaked the PNRI website's data. A check of the link (http://pastebin.com/jhVCx2qj) showed "Info Leak..Encrypted Info..." "We will stop but definitely not the end," the hackers said in the Pastebin.com message. PrivateX had claimed responsibility for defacing the Office of the Vice President website while Philker similarly defaced Philippine sites supposedly to call attention to the lack of security. On Sunday night, another group hacked the website of the House of Representatives and dumped online data about congressmen, according to The Hacker News. The hacks occurred despite Malacañang’s reminder to administrators of government websites to secure their sites. — RSJ, GMA News