2 terabytes of DOST data breached in latest hacking incident

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved the “National Cybersecurity Plan 2024-2029”, the Palace announces on Thursday, February 8, 2024. Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Ivan Uy said Marcos was presented with the five-year plan detailing how to bolster the country’s guard against cyberattacks. Cybercrime/hacking stock image / INQUIRER FILES

MANILA, Philippines — About two terabytes of Department of Science and Technology (DOST) data were breached in a biggest hacking incident during the present administration.

Department of Information and Communications Technology spokesperson Aboy Paraiso said the hacking incident in DOST servers occurred on Tuesday.

“It is the biggest since Marcos admin, storage-wise it is,” Paraiso told INQUIRER.net in a phone interview,

While it is the biggest in terms of size, Paraiso, however, assured that the incident is less serious compared to the hacking incident which hounded the 600 gigabytes of personal data and other files of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth).

READ: Hackers attack PhilHealth’s website, systems

Last year, Philhealth’s website and online application became the victim of a ransomware attack. Services and transactions of the state insurer were done offline before its website was restored  several days later.

“Since it’s old drawings, old schematics, it’s not that significant unlike what happened to PhilHealth because it’s more of personal data,” Paraiso also said, while noting that there is also personal data from the DOST’s employees.

READ: AFP ready to assist PCG after latest hacking incident

For his part, DOST Secretary Renato Solidum said the affected IT infrastructures were immediately isolated and contained after the incident.

Solidum also said the agency has also conducted a “recovery plan” to address the breach in their servers.

“Our technical teams are working diligently to address any vulnerability and reinforce our cyber systems,” Solidum said in a statement on Wednesday.