MANILA – The Philippine National Police (PNP) will work with the Senate and cybercrime authorities to investigate the defacement of the Senate website and bring those responsible to justice.
PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. ordered the Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) to assess the vulnerabilities that allowed the intrusion while actively tracing the digital footprint left by the perpetrators.
“While we are relieved that no sensitive or confidential data was compromised in this defacement, an attack on a vital government institution remains a serious breach of security,” Nartatez said in a statement on Friday.
“The PNP, through the Anti-Cybercrime Group, will work closely with Senate officials and relevant government agencies to assess the incident, preserve digital evidence, strengthen cybersecurity measures to prevent similar attacks in the future, and identify and arrest the perpetrators behind this unauthorized modification,” he added.
The hacking incident, detected on June 11, involved an unauthorized modification of the Senate website attributed to the group "Nullsec Philippines."
According to the Senate Electronic Data Processing-Management Information System (EDP-MIS) Bureau, technical teams immediately activated security protocols to contain the incident and launch a comprehensive investigation.
The bureau said the website primarily hosts publicly accessible documents with no confidential records were exposed during the breach.
Nullsec Philippines claimed responsibility through social media, framing the digital intrusion as a protest against alleged state corruption and political dynasties.
However, the PNP said using cyber tactics to disrupt public infrastructure is a crime, regardless of the political narrative invoked to justify it.
“Digital vandalism is a serious crime, not a legitimate form of protest, and the guise of 'hacktivism' will not shield you from the full force of the law. Ideological grievances can never justify sabotaging state infrastructure, and the PNP will aggressively track down anyone who compromises government digital systems,” Nartatez said. (PNA)
