170 gov’t websites shut down; no cyber attack, DICT assures

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) on Tuesday categorically stated there has been no cyber attack on 170 government websites that shut down as early as 3 a.m. Monday, just a hardware malfunction of the six-year-old server in need of more maintenance.

“There is no cyber attack, there is nothing to worry. Our security is still intact,” DICT Assistant Secretary Alan Silor said.

Silor said other government agency websites are all functioning well. Those affected are the ones being hosted by DICT.

As such, Silor has emphasized that government operation has not been paralyzed because of the malfunctioning of the servers.

Although the websites were down with “This site is under maintenance” when one opens it, email services are still functioning.

Silor said their team of engineers and IT professionals have already looked into the data center of the storage device in the servers.

“These are old equipment and they need maintenance,” he said. DICT has been undertaking preventive maintenance of the servers.

IBM, the server vendor, has already been informed in case there will be a need for parts replacement, Silor said.

The servers are expected to be restored within the day but the websites may be up within the week yet, as they may need parts replacement from the vendor.

Earlier, DICT Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr. said in a radio interview that they have sought the help of IBM to help fix the problem.

He said the websites are expected to be back online within the week.

According to Rio, government servers have encountered hardware problem causing the websites to shut down.

The servers have been in service for the past six years.