NBI arrests 3 over alleged hacking of gov't websites

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Friday said it arrested three individuals who were allegedly behind the hacking of several private and government websites, banks, and Facebook accounts.

According to the NBI, the arrest stemmed from information regarding incidents of multiple unauthorized access attempts and breaches of private and government websites.

The NBI said it tracked the movements of the identified hackers and monitored their activities on social media, fora, and public databases to establish patterns and connections.

It said that it made contact with the three individuals on June 14 through an informant.

On June 17, the NBI said the three sent a compressed file containing a database to the informant. They also sent hacked Facebook accounts to the informant on June 19.

This led to their arrest on June 19, Wednesday.

Authorities found that one of their phones contained scripts and databases obtained from local government units and various government websites, as well as Facebook users’ credentials.

The phone also contained data related to five banks.

“These highlight the extent of the digital assets and sensitive information accessed by the Subjects, pointing to potential cybersecurity breaches and illegal activities,” the NBI said.

The three were brought to the NBI-Cybercrime Division for standard operating procedures.

It said they were recommended to be charged with Illegal Access under Section 4(a)(1) and Misuse of Device under Section 5(iii) of RA 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, as well as Unauthorized Access or Intentional Breach under Section 29 of RA 10173 otherwise known as the Data Privacy Act of 2012.

According to Allan Gatus' report on Super Radyo dzBB, NBI Director Jaime Santiago said the three individuals are members of the hacking group LulzSec.

Meanwhile, NBI cybercrime chief Jeremy Lontoc said one is a data officer of a media organization, another is a cyber security researcher in a company, and the other is a graduating student. 

“We commend the NBI for apprehending these suspected cyber criminals. We will assist in our capacity as technical consultants in ensuring we build a strong case against them,” Department of Information and Communications Technology Undersecretary (DICT)Jeffrey Ian Dy said in a statement.

“We confirm that these cases have been discussed thoroughly within the National Cybersecurity Interagency Committee which is chaired by the Executive Secretary and co-chaired by DICT and NSC,” Dy said.

The official said the DICT is part of an interagency working group that shares intelligence and technical information that assists law enforcement agencies in apprehending suspected cyber criminals. —Joahna Lei Casilao/Ted Cordero/VDV/RSJ, GMA Integrated News