Filipino hackers warned vs ‘cyberwar’ with China

Outnumbered in terms of warships, warplanes and ground troops, the Philippines wants no war with China even in cyberspace.

After hackers from both sides defaced each other’s websites, dramatizing the two countries’ conflicting claims over Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, President Benigno Aquino III’s deputy spokesperson Abigail Valte on Sunday urged both Filipinos and Chinese to refrain from escalating tensions.

“It will not bode well for anybody from both sides to increase tension because of the issue,” Valte said in an interview over government radio dzRB. “We call on citizens, including ours, to exercise civil temperance.”

Valte was referring to recent attacks against Philippine and Chinese websites by hackers claiming that Panatag, or Huangyan Island to Chinese, is within their country’s territory. The shoal is located west of Zambales and, Philippine officials say, is well within the Philippine exclusive economic zone.

On Friday, hackers claiming, “We come from China! Huangyan Island is Ours,” defaced the website of the University of the Philippines (UP). The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) immediately called for an investigation.

Report from Inquirer.Net