Secure sites, Palace tells gov't webmasters

Malacañang on Saturday reminded webmasters of government websites to take proper security precautions, in the wake of a recent series of hacker attacks targeting government sites. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said this reminder particularly applies to government sites that contain important information. “Patuloy na pagpapaalala sa nagme-maintain ng website ng ahensya ng gobyerno, ano ang dapat nila gawin sa seguridad ng website. Lalo na ang information sa sites ay importante para sa nagbabasa (We have to remind those maintaining government websites to secure the sites. This is especially true for sites that contain important information)," Valte said on government-run dzRB radio. Some government websites came under attack since June, with the latest wave of attacks taking place this weekend. One of the latest targets was the site of the Food and Drug Administration, which the hacker group PrivateX defaced. The defaced site triggered antivirus alerts and redirected visitors to a web page containing messages from the group. The group also left a message wishing President Benigno Aquino III “good luck" in his upcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday. PrivateX had attacked the website of the Office of the Vice President several times Friday. Also on Friday, the website of the Optical Media Board was defaced. The site was back online Saturday. On the other hand, Valte kept mum on any follow-up action by the government after it said it will study the security of government websites. Last June 14, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said that the National Security Adviser is "studying the creation of a task force to undertake a security review of government websites." “Alam ko doon sa unang naging insidente ng hacking may grupo na kumuha ng responsibilidad sa pagha-hack. Nitong recent wala pa akong, there is no group that has claimed responsibility for it (From what I know, a group claimed responsibility for the earlier attack. Recently there has not been any group that claimed responsibility)," Valte said in Saturday’s interview when asked for an update. — TJD, GMA News