DBM website still being fixed after hacking attacks

MANILA, Philippines—The website of the Department of Budget and Management has remained inaccessible, as of Thursday, as the DBM continued to do security checks following the two hacking attacks on its site last Wednesday, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said.

In a statement, Abad said the DBM website was undergoing a security audit and would “be inaccessible until critical issues are resolved.”

“Our initial findings show that all important data in the website have not been compromised, and we are taking additional measures to reinforce the security of our servers and prevent future attacks,” Abad said.

He said that at 2 p.m. last Wednesday, the website was defaced.

A check showed that hackers claiming to be Chinese posted a Chinese flag in the DBM website page and wrote some statements such as asking why the country was challenging “superior Chinese hackers.”

Abad said the website was attacked again at 10 p.m. of Wednesday that resulted in a “denial-of-service error that prevented users from accessing the site.”

“We are issuing this statement to caution other government institutions against similar attacks that may be launched against their online systems,” the budget secretary said.

The presidential website, Official Gazette (www.op.gov.ph) was also attacked last Sunday by networks traced in China. Just like the DBM website, the Palace website was sent many requests that caused it to lag.

The attacks came as the Palace pleaded to both Filipinos and Chinese to stop attacking each other in cyber space in light of the two countries’ current conflict over Panatag Shoal (or Scarborough Shoal).

Filipino and Chinese vessels had been stationed in the shoal — located just off waters of Zambales — for over two weeks as the two nations claim ownership over the area.