Just days into the new year, a string of cyberattacks plagued Philippine Government websites. The latest of which is the attack on Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) last Monday morning. Site visitors trying to view the site saw the trashed homepage with a man waving a dirty finger. This comes after the Philippine government's decision to implement an automated election which is scheduled on May 2010. The TESDA site is not alone in its predicament. Earlier, several government sites are also vandalized which include the Department of Health, National Disaster Coordinating Council, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
The intention of the attack remains unclear since the site does not contain sensitive information. The website belongs to a government department which provides technical training to underprivileged students. Another angle of the motive which being looked at by government investigators is the upcoming automated election this May 2010. Judging from the statements posted by the hackers during their attack on TESDA, there may be a factor which the hackers want to expose several vulnerabilities on the technologies being employed by government websites. They may be also want to discredit the upcoming automated elections by creating doubts on the integrity of the results generated by the automated elections.
Another statement coming from the hackers is their sympathy to left-leaning groups and individuals which may prove that the attack is motivated politically.
The previous attack to some government sites have been traced and seems to originate from Indonesia.
I certainly hope computer experts from the government will look into the incidents very deeply since this may have implications to the integrity of the government sites. It is well-known that no system is fool-proof but we can take steps to mitigate the possibility being victimized.
The intention of the attack remains unclear since the site does not contain sensitive information. The website belongs to a government department which provides technical training to underprivileged students. Another angle of the motive which being looked at by government investigators is the upcoming automated election this May 2010. Judging from the statements posted by the hackers during their attack on TESDA, there may be a factor which the hackers want to expose several vulnerabilities on the technologies being employed by government websites. They may be also want to discredit the upcoming automated elections by creating doubts on the integrity of the results generated by the automated elections.
Another statement coming from the hackers is their sympathy to left-leaning groups and individuals which may prove that the attack is motivated politically.
The previous attack to some government sites have been traced and seems to originate from Indonesia.
I certainly hope computer experts from the government will look into the incidents very deeply since this may have implications to the integrity of the government sites. It is well-known that no system is fool-proof but we can take steps to mitigate the possibility being victimized.
