Palace alarmed over hacking of govt Web sites

Malacañang on Thursday expressed alarm over the series of hacking incidents that victimized the official Web sites of at least four government agencies. This has raised new concerns about the security of the automated elections in May. “Of course we are concerned. This is not just a problem in our country, this is not just something that has happened just recently, it's happening all over the country so this is certainly something that we are sensitive to as a matter of information policy within government," said deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar. Olivar made the statement on the same day hackers hit the web site of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). Before that, the Web sites of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Department of Health (DOH), and the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) also fell prey to hackers. The attacks occurred over just two weeks. Hackers defaced the web sites and inserted obscenities, including a manipulated image of Health Secretary Francisco Duque on the DOH web site during the holiday season when the public would tend to go to the site for health and safety advice.

Olivar said this is a cause for concern considering that the country is set to have its first ever nationwide computerized elections in May. He said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and other government agencies are taking the necessary precautions to secure their Web sites. “Other agencies which are not yet hit by this are likewise taking the necessary precautions, especially Comelec because of the automated nature of the next elections," he said. The Comelec had earlier said that adequate safeguards are in place to protect the election results from hackers. Spokesman James Jimenez said the system to be used in the coming automated polls would operate on a “virtual private network," making it difficult for hackers to bypass the system’s security mechanisms. - KBK/HGS, GMANews.TV