NBI arrests media outlet’s data officer, 2 others for hacking gov’t websites

NBI logo over a shot of the facade of its headquarters

MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has arrested three individuals who were involved in hacking private and government websites, as well as banks and Facebook accounts.

In a press conference on Friday, the NBI said the three are members of hacking groups Philippine Lulzzec and Globalzec. One of the hackers is a data officer for a media outlet. The two others are a cybersecurity researcher at a company in BGC and a graduating student.

Atty. Jeremy Lotoc, chief of the NBI Cybercrime Division, said the arrested hackers started their activities in 2016 by hacking the website of a university because they are angry at a doctor working for the school.

From hacking a university website, Lotoc said the group, previously called Global Security Hackers managed to deface Dragon Pay.

After the raid and initial examination of the devices seized from the hackers, Lotoc said one of the devices contained data-related to hacked banks including Philippine National Bank, Security Bank, Banco de Oro, and Union Bank.

“These highlights the extent of the digital assets and sensitive information accessed by the subjects, pointing to potential cybersecurity breaches and illegal activities,” the NBI said.

Lotoc said the data collated by the hackers would be sold to the Dark Web, which is usually the go-to place for cybercriminals.