‘Cyberattacks on gov’t websites a matter of nat’l security’ – Romualdez

Speaker Martin Romualdez on Monday called for an immediate congressional briefing from the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) on the recent cyberattacks on several Philippine government websites purportedly from Chinese hackers, saying this is an issue of national security.

“The revelation that hackers, suspected to be operating from China, have infiltrated the email systems and internal websites of various government agencies, is a matter of national security and public interest,” Romualdez said in a press statement.

On Saturday, DICT Undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy reported that cybersecurity experts have foiled the recent cyberattack that targeted various government email addresses, including that of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the private website of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr..

Dy said other government domains targeted by the alleged China-based cybercriminals were those of the Cabinet Secretary, the Department of Justice, the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department of the Congress, the National Coast Watch System, and the DICT.Romualdez said the Philippines should not allow these cyberattacks on government websites go unchecked, and the government must ensure that the national cybersecurity strategies are robust enough to withstand such attacks and agile enough to adapt to the evolving digital landscape.PNA