Weak Defense

The hacking of websites of different government agencies is becoming alarmingly rampant these days that one couldn’t help but ask if these institutions aren’t doing enough to thwart such cyber-attacks.

For sure, these agencies have people to man their computer systems and are, in fact, spending millions of pesos to shield against cyber intruders. Yet, they proved no match to computer hackers, who, I believe, are not really just out to disrupt online-based operations or steal important data from said institutions.

These hackers probably do what they do to expose the gaping holes in our cyber security that need to be plugged in immediately lest we suffer grave consequences that may pose danger even to our national security in the future.

Recently, I came across an article in a sports website about the revelation of a hacker that he has been digitally rigging the online voting of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) for its All-Star Games for years, padding the votes of lesser-known players to be included in the annual cage spectacle.

This may actually look petty when ranged against the hacking attacks on government entities that keep information vital to state affairs. 

But my point is, if such an incident could happen to a popular athletic institution and remained undetected for years, the possibility looms that a similar attack can also transpire, or who knows, may already be transpiring in agencies that provide critical numbers on economic matters.

It’s a shame really that while the government boasts of having adopted stricter measures to combat cybercrimes, these hackers continue to have a field day firing away on their keyboards to alter or steal important information from the websites of the agencies they victimize.

The series of hacking episodes is a huge wake-up call to the state and all institutions that fell prey to cybercriminals to go back to the drawing board and chart new strategies that can deliver an impenetrable layer of cyber protection.

By continuously having a wispy cybersecurity, we are courting disaster as we leave the door ajar for our enemies to come in and capitalize on our weakness.

China, I hope, will not zero-in on this.