Senator Raffy Tulfo on Thursday raised the alarm over online hacking and hijacking of Short Message Service (SMS) or text messages.

Tulfo, who chairs the Senate Committee on Public Services, urged the concerned agencies and telecommunications (telcos) to address the poor state of internet services in the country and curtail cybercrimes, including the rampant SMS hijackings and digital hackings, sowing fear among all telco clients. 

He also lamented the several complaints and bad experiences of telco users regarding total outages, if not poor cellular phone signals, in various establishments and areas owned or affiliated by the competitors of their registered telco network.

The senator demanded telcos to ensure that the public receives reliable signal services.

He then urged the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to conduct strict monitoring of malls nationwide, in cooperation with the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), to hold those signal jammers accountable for violation of the law. 

In a Senate hearing on 15 January, Tulfo ordered the NTC to submit a report and plan of action regarding these concerns by 20 January.

Further, Tulfo flagged the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) for its lack of security and stringent monitoring of free public wifi spaces in the country, particularly in malls and restaurants — where the public is provided with easy access.

Citing a complaint, Tulfo highlighted an alarming incident where mobile phones were hacked after being connected to a public Wi-Fi service. Hackers were able to remotely control the affected device and access sensitive information.

He also exposed a new technology attack called “text hijacking” wherein hackers can easily intercept legitimate messages from someone’s text message conversation.

Tulfo criticized the DICT for its limited action and urged the agency to upgrade its cybersecurity programs and policies to strengthen the country’s cybersecurity infrastructure.

Tulfo warned the public to take precautionary measures whenever accessing public wifi services, as well as, prevent clicking malicious links and protect their respective sensitive information.