ILLEGAL ATTACK ON DOST SYSTEM

2-terabyte worth of data have been compromised by local hackers including research plans, designs and schematics of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), according to DOST Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. three websites were affected in the breach.

DICT confirmed that the DOST system had been hacked (Photo courtesy of DOST/Inquirer)

Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said that the compromised data locked out DOST from its own systems. The approval of pending patents and other DOST research and development projects is expected to be delayed as a result of this most recent hacking incident involving a government entity, a DICT official said.

“When you say locked out, you do not have access to these data. If you are the custodian, you can pull out various files and documentations. Right now, they can’t,” he said.

A note left by the local hackers who broke into the DOST system claimed that they were protesting a revision to the Charter and linked the incident to a movement named "#opEDSA" led by "ph1ns."

The motivations of hackers could vary, but some, like those who execute ransomware attacks, have financial motivations, according to Paraiso. Hackers hijack a system or data in this type of cyberattack and demand a ransom to be paid.

Since then, the organization has taken precautions to stop future hacking events and isolated all compromised systems.

225 cybercrimes were reported in the final week of March, a 40.79 percent decrease from the 380 incidents reported the week before. According to the Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG), there was a roughly 41% decline in cybercrimes in the Philippines last month.

Source: Ranier Allan Ronda/Philippine Star

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