The House of Representatives has joined the Senate in seeking an inquiry into the series of hacking and data breach incidents on government websites.
House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan and Rep. JC Abalos filed House Resolution 1392 urging the House Committee on Information and Communications Technology, and other appropriate committees to conduct the investigation.
The resolution seeks “to determine the extent of the risks to government institutions and data privacy of Filipino citizens” the recent hacking incidents on the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), and the House of Representatives.”
The two legislators said “the simultaneous cyberattacks may have exposed sensitive and personal information of individuals and their households, especially in the marginalized sector.”
Senators have also filed resolutions to look into the current status of cybersecurity measures in government.
Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte earlier appealed to the government to work closer with public telecommunications entities (PTEs) and private cybersecurity experts in strengthening the country’s digital infrastructure to best safeguard its over 105-million strong Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) database against hackers.
The PhilHealth reported on Sept. 22 that 730 gigabytes of its information—equivalent to about a million of its members’ registration forms—were compromised in what is considered the largest breach of government data since the hacking of the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) database in 2016.
The National Privacy Commission (NPC) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) have already signed a pact to ensure the safeguarding of digital security and privacy.
Privacy commissioner John Henry D. Naga said the collaboration highlighted he implementation of the Digital Security and Privacy Quick Response (DSPQR) Project, an innovative complaints-handling system designed to swiftly address privacy violations and concerns, securing the fundamental right to privacy for all citizens.
Makati City Rep. Luis Campos Jr. meanwhile said he is seeking up to P3 billion in additional funding to build up the capabilities of the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC).
“We must bolster the CICC with all the necessary cutting-edge technologies to swiftly produce actionable intelligence against all types of threat actors – from thrill seekers and ‘hactivists’ to cybercriminals and cyberterrorists,” Campos said in a statement on Wednesday.
The House of Representatives website is still down three days after it was illegally accessed and vandalized by a group of hackers calling itself “3MUSKETEERZ.”
Visitors are greeted with a notice that says, “Our website is currently undergoing security updates and maintenance.”
The internet sites of the Department of Science and Technology and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. were also previously cyberattacked, causing data breaches and denial of service.
Campos cited the need “to reinforce the CICC with a highly advanced data fusion hub and a round-the-clock security operations center for threat detection, response and prevention.”
“We must also improve the center’s digital forensics and electronic evidence management systems,” Campos said.
All told, the CICC needs a capital outlay of up to P3 billion, according to Campos, vice chairperson of the House committee on appropriations.
The CICC is the inter-agency body created by the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 to suppress criminal activities that either target or use a computer, a computer network, or a networked device.
The center integrates the cybercrime-fighting divisions of the Department of Information and Communications Technology, National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine National Police, and the Department of Justice.
The CICC has a budget of only P347.7 million in this year’s General Appropriations Law.
In the 2024 National Expenditure Program, the center has only P320.8 million. With Othel V. Campos