MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the country’s information communications and technology arm, has confirmed that its website fell prey to hacking on Tuesday.
The bureau was added to the long list of government agencies affected by data breaches this year.
The DICT, however, said that only the Disaster Risk Reduction Management Division (DRRMD) website was affected by a data breach, not its main site.
It likewise clarified that the DRRMD’s system wasn’t linked to the central office’s system on purpose. It was set up this way to make it easier for information to flow during disasters by having fewer barriers.
“It’s designed primarily to be porous. Because it’s a disaster response system, the influx of information should be porous and the response time should be fast,” said DICT spokesperson Aboy Paraiso in mixed English and Filipino during a virtual press conference.
Probers identified “ph1ns” as the hacker responsible for breaching the DICT’s database, as well as for breaching the online systems of the Philippines National Police and the Maritime Industry Authority.
The hacker shared an image displaying the altered appearance of the DICT unit’s website.
“To complete my message, this attack is not only to mock DICT’s reputation but also to strengthen the country’s cyber defense by humiliating them,” the hacker said.
The information and communications technology bureau also said that no sensitive data was compromised as only less than 5 megabytes of information was breached, adding that the “extent” of hacking was “not significant.”
“With the extent of the breach, it’s not very significant. Again, very few pieces of information were integrated into or stored in the system—such as assets, DICT employees, and some other disaster-related information,” said Paraiso.
The incident has already been reported to the National Privacy Commission, according to Paraiso.
Meanwhile, the DICT reported that it regained control of the website’s system within an hour.
This is not the first time that a government agency has been subjected to hacking. Several departments including the Philippine Coast Guard, Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Bureau of Customs (BOC), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), and the House of Representatives.
