House website hacked, defaced

The website of the House of Representatives was hacked Sunday, House Secretary General Reginald Velasco said.

“Immediate steps have been taken to address the issue,” Velasco said in a statement.

He said the House is working closely with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) and law enforcement agencies to investigate the matter.

Visitors to the House website found this message: “YOU’VE BEEN HACKED. YOU’VE BEEN HACKED. HAVE A NICE DAY.”

It was accompanied by a caricature of a laughing man.

Below it was the message: “HAPPY APRIL FULLZ KAHIT OCTOBER PALANG! HACKED BY 3MUSKETEERZ 15-October-2023 || 11:31:24 AM”

Velasco asked for the public’s patience and understanding as he committed to ensure the security and integrity of the House’s digital platforms.

He also said additional measures will be implemented to prevent such incidents in the future.

The House media discovered the website was not working at around 11:30 a.m. Sunday.

“For the moment, we advise the public to be cautious of any suspicious e-mails or communications that claim to be from the House of Representatives,” Velasco said. “We will keep the public updated as more information becomes available.”

Renato A. Paraiso, spokesperson of the DICT, said the agency has been informed of the cybersecurity incident that occurred at the House of Representatives.

“We are currently investigating the extent of the said incident and we shall provide further updates to the public as soon as they become available,” he added.

Late last month, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) said hackers had threatened to expose confidential data it had stolen from the state-owned agency if it did not pay a $300,000 ransom.

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