At least 68 PH government websites are under attack, a few days after the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruled in favor of the Philippines against China’s nine-dash line claim in the West Philippine Sea.
According to the report of Philstar, the websites suffered a variety of cyberattacks, which include hacking and defacement, along with traditional tool of the hacker, distributed denial of service (DDoS).
Many government agencies have been hit by the attack, which include the Department of National Defense, the Philippine Coast Guard, the Department of Foreign Affaris, the Department of Health and more importantly, the gov.ph domain.
Websites in Bohol were also similarly attacked and defaced. A screenshot of the defacement left by the hackers seemingly point to Chinese hackers as the perpetrators of the attack, though the source of the attacks seemed to have come from the Netherlands.
“Nobody can give you freedom Nobody can give you equality or justice If you are a man you take it.
—Chinese government”
Philippine government websites are no stranger to cyberattacks that result from clashes with its neighbors. In 2012 the website of Department of Budget Management was hacked by hackers claiming to be Chinese citizens over territorial disputes in the Scarborough Shoal. In 2013 government websites bore the brunt of cyberattacks coming from Taiwan after PH Coast Guard personnel shot and killed a Taiwanese fisherman.
