Government Websites Attacked by ‘Hactivists’

by Kathryna de Bustos


Manila, Philippines – Government-run websites were seized by a group who called themselves ‘Anonymous Philippines’ in a series of hacking events as a protest against the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

 The first wave last September 26, 2012 targeted the websites of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Inc. (AMCHAM), the Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Team (PAPT), Department of Health: Smoke-Free Philippines (DOH) and the Institute for Development and Econometric Analysis (IDEA).

 A black background with a header that contained an icon of a person in a suit which instead of having a head was substituted by a question mark; the original contents of the websites were replaced by the petition of the group to revise the said Bill.

The song “Freedom” by Rage Against the Machine played in the background.

 The BSP website was restored back to normal by 2 a.m. the following morning. The defaced websites in the second wave last October 1, 2012 also donned black backgrounds but this time the header contained a red picture that had the word ‘seized’ written across it.

 The group’s message still flashed on the screen stated that “The Philippine Government has just passed a bill that effectively ends the Freedom of Expression in the Philippines.”

 The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) and the Food Development Center sites were sabotaged by the same group who claimed responsibility for last week’s attacks.

Also known as PrivateX, the group called the day ‘Bloody Monday’ and threatened to deface more sites associated with the GOV.PH domain.

The message across the defaced websites also asserts that “The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 is the most notorious act ever witnessed in the cyber-history of the Philippines, and the language of the bill is cunningly designed to make you think that it only applies to individuals who are deep in cyber technology and doesn’t apply to everyone, but some part of the bill basically says it can imprison anyone who commits libel either by written messages, comments, blogs, or posts in sites such as Facebook, Twitter, or any other comment spaces of other social media in the Internet.”

 The second wave also attacked government websites like the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI), the Optical Media Board (OMB), the Maritime Industry Authority, the Maritime Training Council (MTC), the Intellectual Property office of the Philippines (IPOPHIL), and Agusan del Sur’s local website. The title of the law is “AN ACT DEFINING CYBERCRIME, PROVIDING FOR THE PREVENTION, INVESTIGATION, SUPPRESSION AND THE IMPOSITION OF PENALTIES THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.”

 In an article from the Inquirer, one hacktivist stated that the “Challenge Accepted; If speaking up against idiocy in government and unconstitutional amendments is a crime, then I am PROUD TO BE A CYBER CRIMINAL.”

 “We are anonymous. We are Legion. United as one. Divided by none,” the hacktivist said. “The corrupt fear us. The honest support us. The heroic join us. Expect us.”


source: - http://technology.inquirer.net/17256/govt-other-ph-websites-vandalized-by-hackers-more-attacks-threatened http://technology.inquirer.net/17554/3-more-ph-sites-hacked-monday