The Philippine government says it has foiled recent cyberattacks from within China that targeted government agencies and even the president's website.
A number of government entities were targeted, including the mailboxes of the Department of Information and Communications (DICT), the websites of the coast guard and inter-agency National Coast Watch, and the personal website of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., DICT spokesperson Renato Paraiso told local radio broadcaster DWPM.
The attacks came at a sensitive time for the Philippines relations with China, as the two countries' row in the South China Sea continues. Beijing claims sovereignty over most of the heavily trafficked waterway, citing unspecified historical rights, while Manila is not ceding ground on features that fall within its internationally recognized exclusive economic zone.
"We are not attributing this to any state, but using the internet protocol addresses, we pinpointed it to China," Paraiso said, adding that the cybercriminals involved used the services of Chinese state-owned telecommunications firm Unicom.
Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Rear Arm. Armand Balilo told local media it was the first time an attempt had been made to hack into the service's website. He said he was not ruling out the possibility the attack was connected to the country's South China Sea dispute with China.
Newsweek has emailed the Philippine coast guard for comment.
Philippine Speaker of the House Martin Romualdez called on the DICT to prepare for an immediate congressional briefing on the incidents, which he said were a reminder of "the urgent need to strengthen our cybersecurity policies and protocols."
"The revelation that hackers, suspected to be operating from China, have infiltrated the email systems and internal websites of various government agencies, is a matter of national security and public interest," he said in a press release.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin was asked about the thwarted attacks during a press conference on Monday.
"Cybersecurity is a global challenge. China has always resolutely cracked down on all forms of cyberattacks in accordance with the law, and advocates that all countries work together to safeguard cyber security through dialogue and cooperation," he said.
On Tuesday, Marcos greenlit a National Cybersecurity Plan for the next four years, the DICT announced on X (formerly Twitter).
The scheme "envisions a trusted, secure, and reliable cyberspace for Filipinos through strategies and programs that seek to proactively protect and secure the state and the people in cyberspace, increase cybersecurity workforce capabilities, and strengthen cybersecurity policy framework," the post said.
Marcos ordered the national police force to step up its efforts against cybercrime through more investment in related technology and training.
He also directed police to "centralize and standardize all communications systems and platforms."
The news of the attacks followed the FBI's announcement on January 31 that it had disrupted a China-based botnet infection of hundreds of routers in the U.S.
A Chinese state-sponsored hacker group known as Volt Typhoon was behind the attack, which was aimed at concealing cyberattacks on critical U.S. infrastructure, the agency said.
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Micah McCartney is a reporter for Newsweek based in Taipei, Taiwan. He covers U.S.-China relations, East Asian and Southeast Asian ... Read more
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