RESBAK

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MANILA, Philippines — Responding to the defacement of the University of the Philippines (UP) website on Friday, a group of Philippine-based hackers has defaced a Chinese university website on Saturday as tension between China and the Philippines continue to escalate.

Breaking into one of the sub-websites of the Chinese University Media Union (UMU), the group Anonymous OccupyPhilippines replaced the main page with a defaced website that declared “Scarborough Shoal is ours!” as loud, screaming music played in the background. (http://www.interaksyon.com/infotech/pinoy-hacktivist-group-retaliates-defaces-chinese-websites)

The controversy arose when both countries claimed the Spartly's Island. Why? The Spratly Island holds significant reserves of oil and natural gas.  The Philippines base their claims of sovereignty over the Spratlys on the issues of Res nullius and geography, while China base their claims on the issue of historical naval presence. 

Under R.A. 8792 or Y2k Law/E-commerce law. Sec. 33. - The following Acts shall be penalized by fine and/or imprisonment, as follows:

a)    Hacking or cracking which refers to unauthorized access into or interference in a computer system/server or information and communication system; or any access in order to corrupt, alter, steal, or destroy using a computer or other similar information and communication devices, without the knowledge and consent of the owner of the computer or information and communications system, including the introduction of computer viruses and the like, resulting in the corruption, destruction, alteration, theft or loss of electronic data messages or electronic document shall be punished by a minimum fine of one hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) and a maximum commensurate to the damage incurred and a mandatory imprisonment of six (6) months to three (3) years;

Now, the main issue here is how can we prosecute the foreign hacker and make them liable knowing they are outside the country.
 

The only way to bring them to court is to cooperate with foreign law enforcement authorities. But what if these foreign law enforcement authorities do not want to collaborate, or do not have the technical capabilities to assist the investigators? Unfortunately, this type of case scenario happens all the time. This poses a major challenge to the prosecution of cybercrime and there does not seem to be any magical solution other than international cooperation. Cybercrime is a transnational crime, and solving the issue of cyber jurisdiction requires nations to work on harmonizing substantive laws and fostering cooperation between law enforcement agencies worldwide. Indeed, the Interpol (International Police Force) has a plan for international cooperation against crime, including cybercrime, that most countries have joined.

One recent example of cyber jurisdiction issue involved the “I Love You” virus. This virus, which caused billions of damages worldwide, was created and launched by a Filipino. The Hacker, a AMA computer school dropout, was identified by Philippines investigators, but could not be apprehended for lack of substantive law violating his conduct. Indeed, the Philippines' E-Commerce Act, which penalizes hacking, was enacted after the “I Love You” virus was released on the Internet. Thus, although this individual’s conduct would have been punishable in other countries where the virus caused damages, only Philippines law enforcement agencies had jurisdiction over him, and although they did obtain a search warrant, they were unable to prosecute him. Thus, the father of “I love You’ virus was hassled and inconvenienced, but that was about it. Currently, most countries have updated their criminal codes or statutes and introduced digital crimes as a punishable offense. Additionally, international cooperation among countries is helping on the apprehension and prosecution of cybercriminals.

The bottom line is COOPERATION WITH FOREIGN LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, but I don’t think China will cooperate because of the dispute in SPRATLY.