A government website in the Philippines was defaced recently when cyber criminals hacked into the website and posted mocking messages on the upcoming automated elections.
The message posted on the website of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, read “What is going to be used in the elections? Blade Server? Juniper Firewall?”
This is the fifth instance of a government website being hacked in recent months. The Department of Health, Department of Social Welfare and Development, National Disaster Coordinating Council, and Department of Labor and Employment have all been targeted by hackers.
The government has raised some concerns about the security of the automated election system. Presidential spokesman Gary Olivar said:
“Of course we are concerned. It’s happening all over the country so this is certainly something that we are sensitive to as a matter of information policy within government.”
However, according to the Commission on Elections, the automated system will run on a “virtual private network,” which will keep it relatively safe from hackers.