The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) on Firday confirmed that the systems of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) were hacked

“Dito sa DOST, we confirm na mukhang breaches nga ito. Initial report is that there are some experts’ data, [personal identifiable information] ng mga experts,” DICT Undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy told Dobol B TV.

(For DOST, we confirm possible breaches. Initial report is that there are some experts’ data involved)

“Meron din kasing report sa PNP, pero iyan ay sobrang luma naman iyan so kumbaga hina-hype lang nila pero lumang tugtugin na rin iyon,” added Dy.

(There is also a report in PNP but that is so old. Hackers are just hyping it.)

While the data breach is “dangerous” for the experts, Dy claimed  that the leak is “a small scale type”.

“We’re going to advise DOST to also advise the people whose credentials were leaked to make the proper defenses or mitigations,” he said.

According to him, around 10,000 records of experts were leaked. He said DOST has been tapping experts from the public and private sector.

Dy, meanwhile, said that they continue to protect and monitor other vital information from the DOST data. Among them are the department’s research and development efforts.

He said some of these are being pitched to private companies for commercial use.

Earlier, it was reported that Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) were hit by a cyber attack, which also resulted in the leak of some of their data.

Dy said the suspects who posted and leaked the data from PSA and DOST are the same.

According to Dy, the DICT had received the report on the hacking of the DOST system as early as September. He said the department just prioritized addressing the issue in PhilHeath and PSA. —Joviland Rita/ VAL, GMA Integrated News