MANILA, Philippines (3rd UPDATE) – Fresh out of college, a 23-year-old data generation graduate admitted to hacking the Electoral Commission’s website (Commission), prompting the greatest loss of knowledge in philippine history.
The suspect was arrested on Wednesday, April 20 at night at his home in Sampaloc, Manila.
Comelec President Andrés Bautista demonstrated Thursday (April 21) that the suspect remains in the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
Bautista refused to disclose the identity of the suspect until fees are imposed on him.
Possible cases of opposition to the hacker come with a violation of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
Before a press convention on the arrest, the hounds saw the alleged hacker being escorted out of a news room at the NBI on Thursday at 11 a.m.
The suspect’s head was covered with a black handkerchief, while the men believed to be members of the NBI himself of journalists.
Ronald Aguto Jr, head of ibn’s computer crime department, said the suspect was arrested Wednesday night at his home with a court order.
‘No purpose to damage’
Aguto testified that the suspect admitted to committing the crime at first. Initially, the NBI official said, “He chose to remain silent.”
Now Aguto said: “He’s very cooperative and I think he intends to go to the agency.”
The NBI official added that, based on his investigation, the suspect was only seeking to show the “vulnerability” of the Comelec site. He said he “didn’t have the goal of hurting.”
The suspect said he was just looking to make sure that the Comelec would put into effect the safety features of the vote counting machines (VMMs), Bautista said.
“We trust him that all the security that automated electoral law has brought is compatible with the 2016 elections. Sabi ko, Hindi naman niya kailangang mag-hack. Kaagad yung kanyang hinaing,” Bautista said.
(I told him and I trusted him that all the security features set out in our automated electoral law would be implemented in the 2016 elections. I told him I didn’t want to do piracy. If he only wrote to us and sent us the letter, we would have responded to his concerns.)
Bautista said the alleged hacker had two accomplices he had met on social media.
His accomplices are on the way. – Rappler.com
Paterno R. Esmaquel II is a senior journalist who runs Rappler’s canopy and foreign affairs. He finished his master’s degree in journalism at Athenaeum and his master’s degree in Asian studies (s in plural societies) in RSIS, Singapore. For article concepts or comments, email [email protected].