By Ferdinand Patinio
MANILA – The Bureau of Customs (BOC) said Tuesday it has implemented cybersecurity measures following a hacking attempt on its systems over the weekend.
“Upon discovering the incident, we immediately initiated security protocols to contain and address the situation by locking all compromised accounts and servers. The IT (information technology) team is working diligently to enhance our security measures and prevent future breaches,” the bureau said in an advisory.
The BOC said it is now determining the extent of the April 7 incident, where some of its external cloud-based online applications were breached using compromised user login credentials.
Based on its initial investigation, the agency said the following information may have been affected by the April 7 incident –name, e-mail address, company name, contact details and tax identification number.
The BOC said the incident has been reported to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC).
It also sought the expertise of both departments in thoroughly investigating the incident.
At the same time, the BOC advised the transacting public to take necessary precautions, such as changing the passwords of their login credentials and reporting any suspicious activity on their accounts.
“For further information regarding this incident or any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our dedicated support team at BOC-CERT@customs.gov.ph,” it added. (PNA)
