Team DailyPedia
The Anti-Cybercrime Division of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has apprehended the alleged hacker of Commission on Election (COMELEC) website in the suspect’s home in Balic-Balic, Sampaloc, Manila on the evening of April 20, 2016.
Paul Biteng is an alleged hacker and a member of the hacktivist group “Anonymous Philippines,” which claimed to be the responsible for the March 27, 2016 defacing of the COMELEC website and subsequent leakage of sensitive information of Filipino voters (55 million) online. Compromised data included biometrics, dates of birth, email addresses, family members’ names, genders, home addresses, job titles, marital statuses, names, passport numbers, physical attributes, and phone numbers.
NBI Director Virgilio Mendez stated that the suspect admitted that the hacking was intended to show the vulnerability of the Comelec website. Mendez added in a separate interview that Biteng was not bothered by the arrest:
“Kung makikita mo parang hindi siya nahuli. He was just happy…nagpa-picture sa akin..hindi naman siguro happy pero hindi mo makikitang stressed siya.. he was just cooperative.”
(“If you can see him, it doesn’t seem like he’s under arrest. He was just happy… he even took a picture with me. Well, maybe he was not happy, but you won’t see any stress from him. He was just cooperative. “)
“I think he is expecting, kasi alam niyang hinahanap siya. He was challenging the NBI…parang sinasabing hinahamon mo pa kami na hanapin ka.”
(“I think he was expecting [the arrest], because he knew we were looking for him. He was challenging the NBI… it seems like he was challenging us to find him.”)
Biteng, along with two others whose identities are yet to be revealed by the NBI to hasten the apprehension of the other suspects, will be charged for violating the Cybercrime Prevention Law.
