MANILA, Philippines – The government should secure its websites using better technology, a leading international computer security company said.

Myra Pilao, an official of the Philippine headquarters of TrendLabs, said government agencies should be aware of the threats posed by so-called “hacktivists” or “cybervandals”.

She issued the statement on Tuesday after hackers recently defaced three government websites.

The attacks, which targeted the websites of the Philippine Information Agency, the Philippine National Police, and the municipal government of Hagonoy town in Bulacan province, came in the wake of the botched police of Hong Kong tourists taken hostage by a former police officer on August 23.

The Chinese flag and Chinese characters were splashed on a new page placed in the Hagonoy’s website, which, in one rough translation, the text said: "Do not underestimate our pain ... Hackers from China by custom group F.M.T.” The defaced page also opens with a dialog box saying, "You make me angry."

The TrendLabs official asked government agencies and local government units (LGUs) to check if they are using “safe technology”.

“Do we have solid security policies? Is our system unified? There should be a regular security check. That is like a key to a house. The passwords used by admins should be changed regularly," Pilao said.

TrendLabs is Trend Micro’s multinational research, development, and support center that monitors and addresses Internet threats such as hackers, viruses, and worms.

It has around 1,000 staff comprising experts and engineers deployed round-the-clock in the United States, Japan, France, Germany, and China. Its headquarters is based in the Philippines.

Pilao said government agencies and LGUs barely made the passing mark with regard to computer security.

“I would place their score at 5-6 out of 10. It’s good that we are not yet heavy on online transactions,” she added.

Presidential Communications Operations Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma said the national government is taking the hacking attacks seriously.

He said there is a need to set up a new agency that will manage all government websites. – With a report from TJ Manotoc, ABS-CBN News