The Senate on Wednesday said no sensitive or confidential data were affected when its website was hacked Tuesday night.
Arnel Jose Bañas, Senate spokesman, said the usernames and logs supposedly extracted from the Senate Sharepoint site “are merely the names or accounts used for uploading public documents.”
“The logs include basic metadata, such as the upload date and file size, which do not pose any significant security risk,” Bañas said.
“We therefore confirm the statement of DICT (Department of Information and Communications Technology) Assistant Secretary Renato Paraiso that the incident is not a cause for alarm,” he said.
Bañas said access was gained over documents such as transcripts of committee hearings, journals of plenary sessions, and other legislative documents which are intended for public consumption.
“No sensitive or confidential data was affected. In fact, the Senate, upon request, grants access to anyone who wishes to download these documents,” he added.
The Senate will continue all efforts to ensure that its website “remains secure and protected by robust cybersecurity measures,” he said.
A cybersecurity group called Deep Web Konek said on X that a group named “Deathnote Hackers” breached the IT systems of the Senate.
“The hackers accessed the Senate Legislative Information System and SharePoint Site, which hold sensitive legislative documents,” it said.
It said the hackers left a message that criticized the Senate’s “outdated” IT systems.
The DICT said the issue was resolved but they will work with the Senate in beefing up its cybersecurity measures.
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