Cyberattack Targets Philippine Elections

(MENAFN) During the recent pivotal mid-term elections in the Philippines, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) experienced a barrage of over 3 million cyber intrusions aimed at compromising their systems and inserting harmful data, according to local news reports on Thursday.

These cyber offensives spanned from May 11 to May 14 — covering the day before the polls through to the vote tabulation phase, the media reported, referencing statements by COMELEC spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco.

According to Laudiangco, the COMELEC's precinct finder received a staggering 76.81 million visits, with no less than 1.45 million identified as malicious breach attempts.

Simultaneously, the official COMELEC site recorded 113.41 million visits, during which 1.75 million cyberattack efforts were confirmed but successfully countered, he stated.

Laudiangco emphasized that none of these digital assaults succeeded due to robust cybersecurity protocols and relentless oversight by COMELEC's Cybersecurity Division in coordination with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

Though many of the cyber threats appeared to be launched from overseas, COMELEC's cybersecurity team strongly believed the culprits were actually operating within the Philippines, disguising their true origins by rerouting through foreign servers to evade detection, Laudiangco noted.

This week’s election saw millions of Filipino citizens casting their votes to choose over 18,000 officials.

These included 12 senators, all representatives for the 317-seat House, and candidates in highly competitive local government races.

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