Manila Prosecutor’s Office to file criminal raps vs Comelec website hacker

MANILA, Philippines – The Manila Prosecutor's Office (MPO) will file criminal charges against the arrested hacker of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) website.

On Monday, the MPO ordered the filing criminal raps against arrested 23-year-old hacker Paul Biteng before the Manila Regional Trial Court after it found probable cause on the complaint filed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

The MPO considered the NBI’s discovery that the account used in hacking the Comelec website is owned by Biteng, adding that even the computer and mobile phone confiscated during the hacker’s arrest prove that he is the culprit behind the defacement of the Comelec website.

Biteng will be charged with violating some provisions of the Anti-Cybercrime Law, particularly illegal access, data interference, and illegal use of devices as recommended in the resolution signed by Manila Chief Inquest Prosecutor Joven Senados.

Last Wednesday, Biteng was arrested at his residence in Sampaloc, Manila and underwent inquest. He admitted that he defaced the poll body’s website out of “boredom.”

The Comelec website was hacked on March 27, and its database was later leaked online.

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