Jamaine Punzalan, ABS-CBN News

<figure class="op-social"><iframe frameBorder="0" height="383" src="~//www.youtube.com/embed/sD92-qpALy0" width="510"></iframe></figure><p>MANILA - The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested a second suspect in the hacking of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) website and the subsequent leak of voters&#x27; database.</p><p>In a press conference on Friday, Comelec chairperson Atty. Andres Bautista identified Jonnel De Asis as one of the leaders of Anonymous Philippines, a rogue group of hackers who defaced the Comelec website last March 27. The group also stole the personal data records of some 54 million registered voters.</p><p>Bautista said De Asis, a 23-year-old fresh graduate of information technology, has admitted to hacking the website in a bid to prove its vulnerability.</p><p>Ronald Aguto, head of NBI Computer Crimes Division, added that De Asis is also responsible for uploading the 430-gigabyte voters&#x27; database on a publicly accessible website, using the alias Lulz Security group.</p><p>&quot;Initial investigation disclosed that he was the one who downloaded the file from the Comelec website and the one who leaked it to the public,&quot; De Aguto told ANC&#x27;s &quot;Dateline&quot;.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">NBI Cybercrime Division arrests 2nd Comelec hacker <a href="https://t.co/VllFZXTbUC">pic.twitter.com/VllFZXTbUC</a> | via <a href="https://twitter.com/ZyannAmbrosio">@ZyannAmbrosio</a></p>— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABSCBNNews/status/725888574655107073">April 29, 2016</a></blockquote><script async="" src="~//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script><p>Aguto said De Asis was arrested in his home in Parañaque, following the intensive cyber and physical surveillance of the NBI. The agency has confiscated the suspect&#x27;s personal computer and mobile phone as evidence.</p><p>His cohort, 20-year-old Paul Biteng, also known as &quot;PhantomHacker Khalifa,&quot; was <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/halalan2016/nation/04/21/16/nbi-arrests-hacker-of-comelec-website" target="_blank">arrested</a> last April 21. He is <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/halalan2016/nation/04/25/16/comelec-hacker-faces-raps" target="_blank">facing charges</a> for violations of the Cybercrime Prevention Act specifically on access, data interference and illegal use of devices.</p><p>Aguto said they are still on the lookout for a third suspect in the hacking. The NBI will also go after individuals who downloaded the leaked voters&#x27; database.</p><div><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/nation/04/22/16/comelec-data-leak-like-giving-car-keys-to-a-thief" target="_blank"><strong>&#x27;Comelec data leak like giving car keys to a thief&#x27;</strong></a></div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Comelec Chair Andres Bautista thanks the NBI for the arrest of the 2nd suspected Comelec website hacker <a href="https://t.co/bcHgmbZ9IP">pic.twitter.com/bcHgmbZ9IP</a></p>— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABSCBNNews/status/725894639471849474">April 29, 2016</a></blockquote><script async="" src="~//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script><p>The NBI official also said they are investigating if the hackers are connected with a powerful group that could have more sinister motives for the cyber attack.</p><p>&quot;We are looking at the possibility that this group is being used by other groups. But so far, we haven&#x27;t seen a link between a group of politicians connected to this group,&quot; he said.</p><p>Aguto also mentioned that the supposed Malacanñang account that seeded the voters database via another website is only a masked account.</p><p>The NBI is also closely coordinating with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in probing the foiled attempts of cyber thieves to hack its own website.</p><p>Aguto cannot tell yet if the same group of hackers is behind the hacking attempts on the websites of the poll body and the bank regulator.</p><p>The Department of Justice (DOJ) as also secured the help of various government agencies and even the United States government in its investigation of the theft and leakage of voters&#x27; registration records. -- With a report from Jonhson Manabat, radio dzMM</p><p>READ: <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/halalan2016/nation/04/26/16/doj-seeks-us-help-on-comelec-data-leak" target="_blank"><strong>DOJ seeks US help on Comelec data leak</strong></a></p>

The National Bureau of Investigation arrested a second suspect in the hacking of the Commission on Elections website and the subsequent leak of voters' database. 

NBI arrests 2nd hacker in Comelec data breach

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NBI arrests 2nd hacker in Comelec data breach

Jamaine Punzalan,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 29, 2016 02:53 PM PHT

Read More:

halalan2016

philippine elections

comelec

hacker

voters database

nbi

Jonnel De Asis

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