The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Friday said it will work with the Senate and cybercrime authorities to investigate the defacement of the Senate website and bring those responsible to justice.
PNP Chief, P/Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez, Jr. ordered the Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) to evaluate the vulnerabilities that allowed the intrusion while actively tracing the digital footprint left by the actors.
“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.
“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 Thursday, 11 June, involved an unauthorized modification of the Senate’s 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 issue and initiate a comprehensive investigation.
The bureau clarified that the website primarily hosts publicly accessible documents, meaning no confidential records were vulnerable during the breach.
The threat actors claimed responsibility via social media, framing the digital intrusion as a protest against alleged state corruption and political dynasties. However, the PNP maintained that using cyber tactics to disrupt public infrastructure crosses the line into criminal activity, regardless of the political narrative used to justify it.