The Philippine Coast Guard on Thursday said it has regained control of its official Facebook page after being hacked earlier this week. 

“As of 5:45 a.m. today, 29 February, the Coast Guard Public Affairs Service has recovered full access to its official Facebook Page,” PCG spokesperson Rear Admiral Armando Balilo told reporters. 

Balilo said three accounts were removed from having control of the PCG Facebook page identified as “Fatima Hasan, Murat Kansu and Vicky Bates.”

“The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center under the Department of Information and Communications Technology worked with the PCG in conducting backend operations, leading to the discovery and removal of three hackers,” he stressed. 

The PCG has an ongoing investigation to determine whether these were the real identities of the hackers.

Balilo said the CICC confirmed to them that the hackers utilized malware to breach the Facebook page’s security on 26 February. 

The CICC, he added, will also conduct a comprehensive hardware check on all office laptops and computers of the PCG Public Affairs Service this Friday.

It will also work on the removal of remaining malware traces and strengthen cybersecurity against potential breaches.

Amid confirming that the hacking of PCG’s Facebook account may have been done using malicious software, Balilo said the cyber attack has not compromised any sensitive documents. 

Balilo earlier said the hack has not compromised any sensitive documents, with their Facebook page only containing publicly available information.