Nababahala ang National Security Council (NSC) sa posibleng foreign interference sa 2025 midterm elections sa bansa.
Tinukoy ni NSC assistant director general Jonathan Malaya ang madalas na cyberattack ng foreign sources ayon mismo sa sumbong ng Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
“Given that it’s an election year, we should be starting to prepare now on how to protect the integrity of the electoral process and protect it from cyberattacks,” wika ni Malaya sa interview sa ANC.
“We see a consistent pattern abroad. We have seen foreign interference in elections in most democracies,” dagdag pa niya.
Matatandaang inakusahan ng Estados Unidos at dalawa pang kaalyado ang China na nasa likod ng serye ng pangha-hack sa mga mambabatas at sa mga demokratikong institusyon.
Itinanggi naman ng China ang akusasyon at sinabing “it opposes and cracks down on all forms of cyberattacks.”
Nakikipag-ugnayan na ang NSC sa DICT upang mapaghandaan ang posibleng cyberattack sa midterm elections.
Ilan sa inaayos nila ay ang pagpapalakas sa election database upang hindi ito ma-hack, kabilang na rin ang pangangalaga sa transmission ng resulta ng halalan.
Kahit na sa panahon ng kampanya, mahigpit na babantayan ng NSC ang pagkalat ng “fake news or disinformation or malign influence.”
“It could be as subtle as troll farms or disinformation… to sway the public to a certain political thought. Or it could be as serious as hacking the electoral database. Or interfering with the transmission of votes,” paliwanag pa niya.
“For so long we have always been concerned about politicians manipulating the electoral process for their own benefit to ensure their victory,” dagdag pa niya.
HAZEL HEDI – HN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER
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