MANILA, Philippines- Matinding kinondena ng ilang senador ang hacking incident sa websites ng House of the Representatives (HOR), Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) at Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) na naglalagay sa panganib ng mahahalaga at pribadong impomasyon.
Kasunod nito, pangungunahan ng Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) ang isasagawang cyber probe upang tuluyan nang masugpo at mapanagot ang sinumang indibiduwal na illegal na pumasok sa government websites.
Sa magkakahiwalay na pahayag, kapwa hinimok nina Senado Grace Poe at Mark Villar ang bawat ahensya ng gobyerno na higpitan at palakasin ang cyber security nito na tila nagkakaroon ng hacking spree.
“Kailangan nang maipatigil ang DICT at kinauukulang ahensya ang lumilitaw na hacking spree sa government websites, ayon kay Poe.
Ani Poe, hindi lamang nalagay sa panganib ang mahahalagang government records kundi pati sensibitong datos na maaaring maikompromiso ang pambansang seguridad,
“Data breaches also jeopardize personal information of the people, whose own accounts may be subjected to hacking or unwanted exposures,” giit ni Poe.
Tulad ni Poe, malaki naman ang paniniwala ni Mark Villar na hindi lamang laban sa gobyerno ang pag-atake na ito, kundi bahagi ito ng malawakang atake laban sa publiko, sa mamamayang Filipino na mayroong mga sensitibo at pribadong impormasyon sa ilang ahensya ng gobyerno.
Aniya, hindi lamang nakompromiso ng huling cyber attack ang sistema ng ahensiya ng gobyerno, kundi nalagay din sa panganib ang kaligtasan at privacy ng Filipino.
“These cyber attacks against government agencies are very concerning. Every time an agency is subjected to these opportunist attacks, the information of the general public is put on the verge of being released into cyberspace where it could be utilized by the wrong hands for criminal activities,” ayon kay Senator Mark.
Naunang inatake ng hackers ang website ng PhilHealth, sumunod ang PSA at pinakahuli ang HOR kaya’t hinikayat nina Poe at Villar ang lahat ng ahensiya ng gobyerno na mamuhunan sa pagtatayo ng malakas at matibay na cyber security infrastructures upang mapangalagaan ang public records.
“Hindi pwedeng business as usual at maghintay na lang sa susunod na biktima ng data breach. Kailangan matigil ang hacking at mapanagot ang mga salarin,” giit ni Poe.
Naunang naghain ng kaukulang resolusyon si Villar upang iimbestigahan ng Senado ang sunod-sunod na cyber attack sa government websites upang makalikha ng kaukulang batas laban sa cyber hackers kabilang ang matitinding parusa.
“It is high time that we strengthen our cyberspace security as we are dealing with private and delicate information that could endanger, not just of one institution, but of the general Filipino public,” git ni Senator Mark Villar.
Kaya’t inihayag ni Mark Villar, pangunahing nagsusulong ng pinaigting na seguridad sa digital cyberspace, na napapanahon at relevant na ang regulasyon sa cyberspace upang masugpo ang umatake sa mahalagang institusiyon tulad ng PSA.
Inihayag nitong Linggo ng DICT na kasalukuyang iniimbestigahan ang cyber hacking sa lahat ng ahensiya ng gobyerno tulad ng HOR.
“The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has been informed of the cybersecurity incident that occurred at the House of Representatives (HOR),” ayon kay DICT Supervising Director for Information and Strategic Communications Division Aries Joseph Hegina sa statement.
“We are in constant communication and coordination with the HOR and are currently investigating the extent of the said incident. We shall provide further updates to the public as soon as they become available,” giit niya.
Base sa ulat, pinasok ng di nakikilala pang hackers ang website ng HOR na nagtatago sa username na “3musketeerz.”
Kinumpirma din ng Kamara ang hacking incident sa kanilang “X” account, dating kilala bilang Twitter.
“We wish to inform the public that the official website of the House of Representatives experienced unauthorized access earlier today. Immediate steps have been taken to address the issue,” ayon kay House Secretary General Reginald Velasco.
Hinikayat din niya ang publiko na magpasensiya at pang-uunawa habang ibinabalik nito ang kanilang website.
“We are committed to ensure the security and integrity of our digital platforms, and we will implement additional measures to prevent such incidents in the future,” ayon kay Velasco.
“For the moment, we advise the public to be cautious of any suspicious emails or communications that claim to be from the House of Representatives,” dagdag ni Velasco. Ernie Reyes
