DICT Thwarts Cyberattack on Philippine Government and Presidential Emails

MANILA — The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has successfully countered a cyberattack aimed at several government email accounts, including those associated with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the personal website of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. DICT Undersecretary Jeff Ian Dy disclosed at the Saturday News Forum that while the investigation is still underway, the immediate threat has been neutralized following an official notification received two weeks prior.

According to Philippines News Agency, the DICT and Google have identified at least three advanced threat groups as the culprits behind this attempt, which is suspected to be a case of cyber espionage aimed at information gathering. “In this type of attack, the objective is merely to surveil. They were unable to access our emails, as we managed to defend against the breach, but our investigation continues,” he explained. Dy emphasized that government email addresses and websites were the specific targets of this cyber intrusion.

The cyberattack targeted the Google Workspaces of several government entities, including the domain administrators for the Cabinet Secretary, the Department of Justice, the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department, the National Coast Watch System, and the DICT itself. This hacking effort was initially flagged by Google two weeks ago.

Furthermore, Dy mentioned a separate incident last month where the DICT foiled an attempt to hack the web applications of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA). This attack, occurring approximately three weeks ago, was traced back to a perpetrator operating out of China. “We detected that the attackers were coming from China Unicom. We intend to coordinate with them for assistance in this investigation,” Dy stated, clarifying that while the attackers operated from Chinese territory, the DICT is not implicating the Chinese government in the attack.

China Unicom is recognized as a state-owned telecommunications operator in China. The DICT’s proactive measures highlight the ongoing cybersecurity challenges faced by government agencies and the importance of vigilance and cooperation in addressing these threats.