A Philippine security official confirmed a hacking attempt against government databases but assured that no sensitive information was compromised. The alleged attack, reported by Bloomberg, targeted several Philippine institutions, including Malacañang, the official residence of the Philippine president.
A Philippine security official said on Tuesday, January 7, that “no sensitive information was compromised” despite a report that said China state-sponsored hackers had allegedly infiltrated the computer systems of Malacañang. The National Security Council’s spokesperson Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya said in a message to Rappler, “Based on assessment of our cybersecurity experts, no sensitive information was compromised.
” Malaya was responding to questions about the reported infiltration of the executive branch’s computer systems from 2023 to 2024 — an effort that, according to a Bloomberg report, targeted several Philippine institutions. Earlier, Malaya told a press briefing in Malacañang that “no current information has been compromised,” even as he confirmed that there are “always attempts” to attack government databases, including that of the executive. “What we have seen so far are old data from many years ago that are being regurgitated, recycled just to make an impression that they were successful in doing so,” he said. Bloomberg said the attack on the Philippine executive branch was part of a bigger effort to compromise several Philippine institutions. China’s Foreign Ministry has denied knowledge of the supposed attack, adding that Beijing “consistently opposed all forms of hacking and cyberattacks,” as well as “groundless speculation for political purposes”
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