House takes down website again due to new suspicious, unusual activities | Inquirer News

House takes down website again due to new suspicious, unusual activities

/ 01:57 PM October 17, 2023

The website of the House of Representatives is hacked by "3MUSKETEERZ."

This photo shows the defaced website of the House of Representatives on Sunday, October 15, 2023. (Screen grab from HOR website)

MANILA, Philippines — The website of the House of Representatives has been taken down again after new suspicious and unusual activities were seen, Secretary General Reginald Velasco announced.

In a statement on Tuesday, Velasco said that they voluntarily took down the website as a precautionary measure.

Article continues after this advertisement

This comes just hours after the website was restored.

FEATURED STORIES

It was defaced over the weekend by supposed hackers.

“We regret to inform the public that the official website of the House of Representatives has been voluntarily taken offline once again,” Velasco said.

Article continues after this advertisement

“Despite our recent security enhancements, we have detected suspicious and unusual activities that necessitate further scrutiny,” he reported.

Article continues after this advertisement

“This action has been taken as a precautionary measure to double-check and reinforce the cybersecurity measures we have undertaken, ensuring no vulnerabilities remain,” Velasco explained.

Article continues after this advertisement

“Our primary concern is to guarantee the safety, integrity, and reliability of our digital platform for the citizens we serve,” he added.

Velasco appealed for the public’s understanding as House works to resolve such issues.

Article continues after this advertisement

In an interview on Monday, the secretary general said they have coordinated with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

The Department had pointed out several vulnerabilities to the computer systems of the chamber.

After meetings, Velasco relayed the consensus was to look at hiring third-party firms that will be tasked to beef up their cybersecurity capabilities.

He said hiring a third-party firm maybe the quickest solution since House is short on hiring information technology (IT) experts.

The restoration efforts came after the homepage of the website, particularly a section showing photo journals, was defaced by supposed hackers.

A troll face was placed on the homepage, with the hackers going by the name ~3MUSKETEERZ.

The hackers urged the House to fix its website.

RELATED STORIES:

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

Hackers deface website of House of Representatives

House website back online; SecGen vows to beef up cybersecurity 

APL/abc
TAGS: hacking, House of Representatives

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

© Copyright 1997-2024 INQUIRER.net | All Rights Reserved

This is an information message

We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more here.