MANILA — Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday said she wants the Senate to investigate recent "major" cyberattack attempts on Philippine agencies that have been traced to IP addresses of China state telecommunications companies.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) confirmed Monday that it had averted the cyberattacks, adding those were considered "sophisticated."

The department has not attributed the cyberattacks to the Chinese government and Beijing has said that doing so would be "groundless."

"Imbes na ang enerhiya natin ay mapunta sa pagpapalakas ng mga batas para sa ating pambansang seguridad, nag-aaksaya tayo ng panahon para sa interes ng iilan," Hontiveros said, referring to the contentious People's Initiative campaign to revise the 1987 Constitution.

DICT traces hacking attempts to Chinese state telco IP addresses

DICT says averted 'sophisticated' attacks vs PH websites

According to the DICT, cybercriminals targeted websites of the Philippine Coast Guard, the Office of the Cabinet Secretary, the Department of Justice, the National Coast Watch System, and the House of Representatives, including the DICT's domain.

Private domains, including the personal website of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., also suffered hacking attempts, the DICT added.

Hontiveros, who filed Philippine Senate Resolution No. 923 to seek hearings, described the attempts as a "major cyberattack." 

She said that China could have taken advantage of the country's "current instability to strike at our vulnerabilities."

Hontiveros, in her resolution, cited a 2023 study by Palo Alto research firm Unit 42, "which reported that a similar cyberintrusion targeting a Southeast Asian government then attempted to install other tools and malware to maintain a foothold in the environment and establish persistence, for the purpose of long-term surveillance."

She fears that Chinese hackers could have already installed malware into the assets of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), one of the agencies tasked to defend the West Philippine Sea.

"If so, these recent cyber-intrusions threaten to compromise resupply missions to Ayungin shoal, the security of Philippine Armed Forces personnel stationed on the BRP Sierra Madre, and the wider Philippine national interests in the West Philippine Sea," Hontiveros said.

The PCG however assured the public that their website is secure. 

Coast Guard spokesman Rear Admiral Armand Balilo told ABS-CBN News that they have already instructed the agency’s information and technology personnel to be more vigilant and take preventive measures to protect their website.

There is still no concrete evidence that the Chinese government had a hand in the hacking attempts, according to DICT Undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy.

The Chinese government has said that it does not condone any form of cyberattack, and is also cracking down on any cyberattack using Chinese infrastructure. — Rowegie Abanto, ABS-CBN News

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