A member of the Philippine administration announced that 68 government websites were paralyzed by DDoS attacks last week.
According to the member, the attacks began on the afternoon of July 12, the same day that the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in the Netherlands unanimously ruled in favor of the Philippines in a dispute with China. Specifically, it had to do with several newly created islands that have been created in the West Philippine Sea.
The Philippines alleged that China had constructed and was claiming these islands in order to expand its maritime territory in an area historically under Philippine control.
Officials said the attacks continued with the same intensity the next day (Wednesday, July 13) and subsided over the next few days.
Targets of the DDoS attacks included high-profile websites belonging to the Department of National Defense, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the MMDA and others.
Hackers targeted smaller and less sensitive sites belonging to the Komisyon sa Wikang Pilipino, the National Archives and the Avenue East Medical Center.
Even smaller targets were hit, including the portals of local government units (LGUs) and smaller cities.
By Saturday, officials discovered that two more government portals had also been compromised, with a message claiming to be “Chinese government” but linking to a defunct Twitter account belonging to an anonymous member.
Philippine officials were unable to pinpoint the source of the attack, but most believe Chinese hackers are behind the incident based on its timing.
International relations between China and the Philippines are extremely tense. And to say that the two countries are on the brink of war would not be an exaggeration.
