Hacking gov't websites 'yummy,' like final exams for hackers —CICC

Trying to get into government websites is akin to hackers taking their final examinations, an official of the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) said Thursday. 

CICC Assistant Secretary Mary Rose Magsaysay made the remark in a public briefing when asked about the number of government agencies being targeted by hackers.

“Basta kapag government, yummy, iyan talaga ang pinipilit giyerahin ng bawat ano. Parang iyan ba iyong kanilang exams, yung mga hackers,” said CICC Assistant Secretary Mary Rose Magsaysay in a public briefing. 

(As long as it is a government site, they find it yummy. Hackers find a way to attack them. It’s like the exams for hackers.) 

“Kapag na-hack nila ang gobyerno, knowingly that the government is supposed to be equipped to be able to protect a nation, parang ayan yung ano nila graduation,” she added. 

(If they hack the government, knowing that the government is supposed to be equipped to be able to protect a nation, it’s like a graduation for them.) 

In April, the Department of Science and Technology confirmed that at least two terabytes of data had been compromised by local hackers in a cyberattack.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has also said that it detected over 30,000 vulnerabilities in 2,002 government digital assets.

The vulnerabilities were discovered via Project SONAR (Secure Online Network Assessment and Response System): Automated Vulnerability Assessment, which DICT implemented in December 2023 as a response to multiple hacking incidents of government websites.

Among the agencies that were subjected to cyberattacks last year were the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, Senate, House of Representatives, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, and the DOST. 

There were also incidents of hacking into the Facebook pages of the Central Visayas offices of the Philippine Statistics Office and the Department of Social Welfare and Development. 

The CICC noted that even local government units are targets of cyberattacks. 

“So talagang inaatake tayo day in, day out lahat, encompassing left to right, maski maliliit na LGU,” said Magsaysay. 

(So we are being attacked day in, day out, encompassing left to right, even the smallest LGUs.) 

Further, the CICC said that criminals are now taking advantage of artificial intelligence to scan Philippine laws and find loopholes in them to commit their crimes. 

“Kung mahuli man sila, ano iyong kanilang pwedeng gawing legal tactic para hindi sila mapako sa korte. Isa iyon sa mga pwede nilang gawin,” said CICC Highly Technical Consultant Drexx Laggui. 

(If they get caught, they can easily find a legal tactic so they will not be stuck in court. That’s one of their strategies.) 

Laggui added that criminals are also taking advantage of the advanced technology to commit money laundering, forgery of documents, and phishing. —NB, GMA Integrated News