House eyeing ‘inside job’ angle on website hacking

- Advertisement -

THE leadership of the House of Representatives has formed a cybersecurity committee to prevent a repeat of what happened last month when its website was defaced by hackers, an incident which is being investigated as a possible “inside job.”

House Secretary General Reginald Velasco said the cybersecurity panel, which he heads, was formed by Speaker Martin Romualdez while the joint investigation of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on the October 15 cyberattack is still ongoing.

“Ang sinasabi nga daw internal lang ‘yun but we’re not yet sure yet. Wala pang conclusion ‘yon, hindi pa tapos ang investigation (What’s being said by the DICT and the NBI is the hacking may have been internal but we’re not yet sure. There’s no conclusion yet, the investigation is not yet done) but what we have done is we have created a cybersecurity committee which I will personally chair with my assistants para ma-imbestigahan talaga ito (to thoroughly investigate this),” Velasco told reporters.

- Advertisement -

By “inside job,” Velasco admitted that it is possible that some House employees may have been involved in the hacking incident by getting access to the e-mail or the personal cellphone of one of the website administrators.

“Yes, that’s a possibility that we’re looking at based on the DICT and the NBI’s investigation. That’s their suspicion but the hackers are still not identified,” he said in a separate phone interview. “Of course, no one (House employee) will admit that because they will lose their jobs.”

A group calling itself “3MUSKETEERZ” defaced the lower house’s website last month with a “YOU’VE BEEN HACKED” and troll face comic meme posted on the left side of the landing page, www.congress.gov.ph.

The House website was restored three days after the incident but was taken down again as additional security measures were undertaken.

Velasco said the cybersecurity panel “will review all our protocols, our internet activities so that we’ll have a comprehensive solution to protect the integrity of our system.”

“Hindi lang kasi website ‘yon e (Because it’s not just our website). We are talking about internal personal data ng mga employees, ng congressmen (of employees, of congressmen), which cannot, which should not be accessed by just anybody, especially hackers,” he said, warning that hackers may not only deface the website but use it to spread fake news and disinformation.

House Sergeant-at-Arms Napolean Taas will serve as the panel’s vice chair, while the following are the members: deputy secretary general for legal affairs department Annalou Nachura, deputy secretary general for finance department Dante Roberto Maling, and OIC deputy secretary general for administrative department Jennelyn Go-Sison.

“We can put up our own self defense units, parang IDF ‘yan, ‘yung sa Israel (It’s like the IDF of Israel). Para prepared na kami for the next attacks (So we’re prepared for the next attacks), if ever that will happen. So, we will review everything,” he said.

Velasco also reiterated the House’s plan to hire a private IT firm to help strengthen its cybersecurity protocols.

Author

- Advertisement -

Share post: