Senate website hit by cyber attack amid ongoing probe
MANILA, Philippines — The Senate on Wednesday was forced to temporarily restrict access to its official website due to an ongoing distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.
The Senate’s Electronic Data Processing-Management and Information System (EPD-MIS) bureau said it “temporarily blocked access to the Senate website because of an ongoing distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.”
“A DDoS attack is an attempt to make an online service or website unavailable by overwhelming it with internet traffic from multiple sources,” it said in a message sent to reporters.
Screengrab from Senate website
According to the EPD-MIS, the entry of traffic came from different countries but there is a possibility that the Internet Protocol (IP) address may be “fake” or “spoofed.”
The EPD-MIS first noticed the attack before noon.
The same cyber attack also hit the official website of Senator Richard Gordon last Oct. 4.
Gordon’s information technology officer, Myke Cruz, said the attack raises “serious concern as its timing comes when the Senate Blue Ribbon panel is investigating alleged irregularities in government procurement for COVID-19 supplies and equipment.”
