Manila: The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) flagged nine social media accounts and pages allegedly linked to hacker groups and individuals during its intensified open-source monitoring ahead of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday.

According to Philippines News Agency, CICC Undersecretary Renato Paraiso stated that the accounts were identified by the CICC's Threat Monitoring Center, which is the agency's intelligence arm responsible for monitoring cyber threats. Paraiso emphasized the center's role in scanning the online environment for emerging cyber threats through open-source intelligence, allowing the early identification of suspicious online activities and coordination of necessary urgent actions with partners.

The flagged Facebook accounts were allegedly associated with groups that publicly shared and posted sensitive information from websites and systems they claimed to have compromised. Despite the timing of the monitoring coinciding with the SONA, Paraiso clarified that the flagged accounts were not linked to the event or any specific threat against it. These accounts surfaced during the expanded monitoring operations for the event.

Following validation, the CICC plans to endorse the identified accounts and pages for appropriate action. Accounts confirmed to have engaged in hacking-related activities will be referred to Meta for removal, in accordance with existing laws, government policies, and platform regulations.

Paraiso noted that significant national events prompt the agency to intensify its cyber threat monitoring efforts to help protect government systems and critical infrastructure. The goal is to detect potential threats early, validate gathered information, and ensure appropriate action is taken in compliance with the law and established platform policies.