RECOVERED. The Facebook page of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG). The PCG recovered access to its Facebook page on Thursday (Feb. 29, 2024) after removing three Facebook accounts from its list of administrators. (Screen capture of PCG Facebook page)
MANILA – The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) regained control of its hacked Facebook page early Thursday.
In a statement, PCG spokesperson Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said three accounts were removed from having control of the PCG Facebook page —Fatima Hasan, Murat Kansu, and Vicky Bates.
Investigation is ongoing whether these are the real identities of the hackers.
The backend operation for the recovery of PCG’s Facebook page was led by the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) under the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
“The CICC confirmed that the hackers utilized malware to breach the Facebook page's security on 26 February 2024,” Balilo said.
On Friday, the CICC will also conduct a comprehensive hardware check on all office laptops and computers of the PCG Public Affairs Service (CGPAS) and computers used by CGPAS personnel to access their official social media platforms to remove remaining traces of malware and to strengthen cybersecurity against potential breaches.
In an interview on Wednesday, Balilo said the hack has not compromised any sensitive documents, with their Facebook page only containing publicly available information.
The PCG’s Facebook page was hacked on Monday evening, with the hackers posting several videos containing scenes from movies. (PNA)
