By: JANTZEN ALVIN
At around 6 p.m. of February 26, 2024, an unknown entity has gained access on the official Facebook page of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
Based on the initial diagnostic of the Coast Guard Public Affairs (CGPAS), the unknown entity did not leave any digital traces on the official email address and the mobile phone used by the CGPAS to establish a security key as an additional layer of online security protection.
During such time, the CGPAS was conducting a strategic communication plan workshop.
Hence, its last access and posting on the page was at around 10 a.m., covering the Atimonan maritime incident of the Coast Guard District Southern Tagalog.
According to PCG Spokesperson, CG Rear Admiral Armand Balilo, the CGPAS monitored two malicious short videos posted on the official Facebook page. However, when the CGPAS tried to delete the videos, the service was alerted with a forced switch account notification.
As of 6:45 p.m., the CGPAS continues to diagnose via the official Facebook account, Tanod Baybayin, as well as the official CGPAS email address, cgpao@coastguard.gov.ph.
On February 15, 2024, the CGPAS monitored and resolved the security breach of an unknown entity on its official X (formerly Twitter) account.
In January 2024, the PCG received an alert from the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) regarding the monitored hacking on the PCG website. But upon website review, the CGPAS confirmed that no hacking activity reported on the PCG website.
