“We should not comment yet until we have verified the extent of this cyber-hacking. I’m not very familiar with IT, to be honest. But we must undertake measures to maintain the integrity of the Philippine IT system,” Deputy Spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said during a media briefing this afternoon in Malacanang.

She said she was trying to get a reaction and verification of the cyber-hacking report from Secretary Rey Anthony Roxas- Chua III of the Commission on Information Communication Technology (CICT)..

Reports said the computer networks of the DFA have been infiltrated by a cyber spy network based mainly in China, according to Canadian researchers.

The Philippines is said to be one of 103 countries where classified documents from government and private organizations, including the computers of Dalai Lama and Tibetan exiles, have been hacked into, the reports said citing the Information Warfare Monitor, Ottawa-based think tank of Toronto’s Munk Center for International Studies.

The cyber espionage network involves 1,295 compromised computers from the ministries of foreign affairs of the Philippines, Iran, Bangladesh, Latvia, Indonesia, Brunei, Barbados and Bhutan.

The reports added that the researchers also discovered hacked systems in the embassies of India, South Korea, Indonesia, Romania, Cyprus, Malta, Thailand, Taiwan, Portugal, Germany and Pakistan.

The DFA earlier said it was looking into the cyber espionage expose and will do all it can to protect its IT software and networks.

Last update: 09-04-2009 13:34