Senate website defaced; no data breach reported

THE SENATE on Thursday assured no confidential information was compromised after its official website was defaced in a cyberattack claimed by a group calling itself “Nullsec Philippines.”

In a statement, the chamber’s Electronic Data Processing and Management Information System (EDP-MIS) Bureau said it initiated security protocols following the website defacement.

“Upon detection of the incident, our technical team immediately initiated security protocols, contained the issue, and commenced a comprehensive investigation to determine the cause and extent of the unauthorized activity,” the statement read, noting that additional security measures have since been deployed.

A Facebook page named “Nullsec Philippines” took responsibility for the attack as it called for transparency and accountability, though the Senate has not yet identified the group.

As of 4 p.m. on Thursday, the Senate website remained “under maintenance.”

“We assure the public that protecting the integrity and availability of our systems remains a top priority. We continue to closely monitor the situation and will provide updates as necessary,” the Senate EDP-MIS said.

Meanwhile, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) through their National Computer Emergency Response Team also coordinated with the Senate EDP-MIS to restore the website, also confirming that the incident was limited to defacement.

“As a precautionary measure, the affected website has been placed under maintenance while security validation and restoration efforts are underway,” the DICT said in a statement, posted on their official Facebook page.

The DICT added that legal action will be pursued upon the identification of the perpetrators pursuant to the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

It also said that they are closely monitoring with the Senate for any related malicious activity, reminding the public to rely on official information from the Senate and the DICT as they provide updates on the incident once verified information is available.

The website defacement comes amid the security threats against the Senate which prompted Senate President Pro Tempore Sherwin T. Gatchalian to order the Senate Secretariat and Proper offices personnel to work from home on June 10 to 11 as it imposed heightened security measures and a no-visitor policy. — Kaela Patricia B. Gabriel