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DOST-ICTO pushes for passage of cybercrime, data privacy bills


In light of the recent spate of hacking directed toward its websites, the government reiterated its support for the passage of the cybercrime and data privacy bills, saying they are not taking these attacks lightly. In a statement, the newly formed Information and Communications Technology Office (ICTO) under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said the passage of the two bills will help government agencies in combating cybercrime in the country. "We believe that these bills, when enacted, would solidify government policy as regards these threats and deter crimes committed using cyberspace," said DOST Undersecretary Fortunato de la Pena, officer in charge of the ICTO. De la Pena's statement comes on the heels of recent attacks and defacement of government websites, the latest of which is the online portal of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). On Sunday, visitors of the NDRRMC website were greeted with a black background and what appeared to be a map of the Persian Gulf. "P E R S I A N G U L F 4 EVER," a message on the hacked page read. The window title of the site was also altered to read "Hacked by Cocain TeaM." In July, meanwhile, a hacker group which identified itself as "PrivateX" hacked into the websites of the Office of the Vice President and the website of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute. While no sensitive data were stolen or leaked, the ICTO said it is noting these incidents with concern. "Unfortunately, most of the cyber attacks on government are due in part to websites and systems that are developed in-house using coding practices that are below standards," Fortunato said. "[These codes also] did not undergo rigorous security testing which may mitigate or prevent common security attacks such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting," he added. De la Pena added that there are still government agencies which do not have a firewall or have firewalls that are not configured properly, leaving them vulnerable to such attacks. In June, then Commission on Information and Communications Technology chair Ivan John Uy admitted that cybersecurity is not necessarily on top of the government's budget priorities, leaving agencies with less than desirable security systems. The ICTO OIC said it will be advocating for increased awareness of cyber attacks, the capacity building of website administrators to ward off such attacks and the knowledge sharing between the government and private sector in terms of cyber security. "It is difficult to stop hackers from initiating attacks, but through concerted effort by government website administrators and experts in the public and private sector, the success of such attacks can be mitigated or thwarted altogether," he added. The cybercrime bill currently pending before Congress has already gone through committee-level deliberations, and is on its way to be passed on first reading. The data privacy bill, on the other hand, has been approved on third reading in the lower house, and is currently being studied by a technical working group organized by the Senate committee on Science and Technology. — TJD, GMA News

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