DFA website taken down for 'upgrading'

After being inaccessible for several days, the Department of Foreign Affairs' website was temporarily taken down for "upgrading."

 

The DFA website's home page was replaced with a mostly static image with a message that the site is down for "upgrading."

 

"The Department of Foreign Affairs website is temporarily down for upgrading. Please check back at a later time," read a notice on the site.

 

Its only active link was to the DFA's passport section at www.passport.com.ph.

 

All links to the temporary home page were not active. The DFA site had been occasionally inaccessible since the start of this week.  

 

While the DFA did not specify the reason for the "upgrade," the DFA website is the latest government site to be put down temporarily since a cyberattack last week on a Philippine site over a standoff at the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.

 

The Philippine-China standoff stemmed from the sighting of Chinese fishing boats taking endangered species in the area on April 8.

 

But before a Philippine Navy crew could make arrests when they arrived in the area two days later, Chinese ships blocked its path.

 

The Philippines and China have since pursued a diplomatic route to resolve the situation, with the DFA relaying the Philippine position.

 

Last Friday, pro-China hackers hit the University of the Philippines website, defacing it with a message that the shoal belongs to China.

 

Pro-Philippine hackers retaliated, defacing Chinese sites with the message that the shoal is Philippine territory.

 

Earlier this week, the Department of Budget and Management as well as some Malacañang websites noted attempted cyberattacks on their sites.

 

The DBM said its website was defaced and then hit with a denial-of-service attack last Wednesday. Its website was back up as of 11 a.m. Friday.

 

But the Department of Science and Technology appealed to hackers to stop the cyberattacks and counterattacks, adding the Philippine government does not condone these acts. — RSJ, GMA News