Hackers deface Bicol University website

SCREENSHOT of Bicol University website after it was defaced by hackers

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines — Hackers defaced Bicol University’s (BU) website early Sunday after a controversial statement was released by the institution’s student body on their Facebook account.

The cyber attack on the website of BU in Legazpi City, Albay, came a day after the University Student Council (USC) posted a statement signed by half of its officers calling the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos “a thief, a dictator, and worst of all, a murderer.”

Hackers posted a statement on the website saying the USC had further divided the student body.

“We entrusted to you the USC seats, so hopefully, you won’t disappoint us,” the message said in Filipino.

The message included a greetz—a word used by hackers to mean “shoutout”— to h1j4ck3r, blis5ful, d00mbring3r, and estrang-the-hero.

“This only strengthens what we are fighting for. We will look into this and hopefully resolve it quickly,” Angela Cherylle Obsom, USC auditor, said. USC does not manage or contribute contents to the university’s website.

“We will not progress by your actions. Let us remember these lines on the BU Hymn: Bicol University, burning torch of wisdom. Fount of courage, hope and love. Seat of truth and light,” Patrick Anthony Nota, USC president, said.

Since the posting of the statement, BU students, alumni, and non-members of BU have been engaging in debates, trading insults, and expressing outrage or commendation to the student body.

BU’s Information Management Office (IMO) said the website had been temporarily disabled and would be restored Monday.

It is still unclear what actions BU will take after the attack, but the school administration has been alerted./rga