18-10-2023 (MANILA) The House of Representatives and the Senate in the Philippines have experienced cyberattacks that led to the temporary shutdown of their websites. The lower chamber took its web portal offline due to “suspicious and unusual activities,” according to House Secretary General Reginald Velasco. While security enhancements had been made, vulnerabilities prompted the precautionary measure.
Arnold de Castro, head of the House IT team, stated that the original breach point had been mitigated, but further vulnerabilities were discovered during re-scanning, leading to the decision to harden the system before restoring the website.
Meanwhile, the Senate’s website reported a “spike of attacks” on the same day as the House’s cyberattack, according to Senate Secretary Renato Bantug Jr. Although the Senate had perimeter and application firewalls in place, the tech team made adjustments to address the increased attacks.
Authorities are actively working to identify the hackers responsible, and concerns have been raised regarding the safety and security of citizens’ data. The cyberattacks have prompted calls for an inquiry into government office website security measures.
Senator Risa Hontiveros filed a resolution seeking an investigation into the series of cyberattacks on government websites, including the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), Philippine Statistics Authority, and Department of Science and Technology. In the case of PhilHealth, hackers uploaded data to the dark web and demanded a ransom.
The cyberattacks underscore the need to assess the government’s capacity to secure critical infrastructure from potential threats and uphold the Data Privacy Law’s provisions for securing personal information and communications systems in the private sector. Authorities are currently pursuing leads to identify the hackers responsible.
