Hackers deface DOTC site, replace Roxas image with logo

Hackers defaced early Thursday another government website, replacing the photo of the department head with its logo and redirecting users to a web page containing its "message." The latest victim of the PrivateX hacker group was the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), where visitors were redirected to a Pastehtml.com page.

But there was no immediate indication the hack was connected with the prospect of a fare hike for public utility vehicles due to high prices of fuel. In Thursday's hack, PrivateX, which claims to "show the current situation of our cyber-culture, especially here in our country," replaced the photo of DOTC Secretary Manuel Roxas II with its logo. After a few seconds, visitors were presented with a popup message that read “#OpSecure." Clicking on the “Ok" button would redirect them to the Pastehtml.com page. The Pastehtml.com page was the same as the one that visitors to the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute website were redirected to last November 5. “We would only like to show to everyone how our government officials run this country... Corruption is the reason why there are many Filipinos who suffer in extreme conditions and corruption is also the reason why we daface (sic) sites," PrivateX said in its Pastehtml.com page. “We the PrivateX mean no harm in defacing this site, we just want to show the current situation of our cyber-culture, especially here in our country," the group added. Other government websites defaced by the group included those of the Office of the Vice President since June; the Department of Trade and Industry last Sept. 25; and the old website of the Food and Drug Administration last July. — LBG, GMA News