PHL embassy in Bahrain claims website hacked

The Philippine Embassy in Bahrain claimed on Wednesday that its website was hacked, after learning that "unverified and slanted" stories were uploaded there earlier this month. In a statement posted on its website, philembassy-bahrain.com, the Embassy disowned the news item and removed what appeared to be a news feed section at the bottom of its home page. “Said items contain reports on political issues from other media sources concerning the unrest in Bahrain. An example is a news report last April 5 saying that the Manama regime and Saudi-led forces in Bahrain remove the body organs of those killed in anti-government protests. In this connection, the Embassy wishes to clarify that such unverified and slanted anti-government items are unauthorized. This irresponsible act is the handiwork of some unscrupulous persons who may have intruded into and hacked the Embassy website," it said. The Embassy stressed that it will not allow its facilities to be used as a platform for such propaganda. It described Bahrain as a country “with which the Philippines maintains very close and warm relations over the years." Besides, it said it is harnessing its website to provide “relevant and timely information and news" to serve and assist Filipinos who are working and living in the Kingdom of Bahrain. “There is no rhyme nor reason for the Embassy to carry news and information that have nothing to do with the interests and welfare of the Filipinos in the Kingdom," it said. As of 4 a.m. Wednesday, the embassy website had removed a news feed section at the bottom part of its home page and replaced it with Portable Document Format (pdf) images of past press releases. — TJD, GMA News