MANILA, Philippines - The Twitter account of Maine Mendoza, more popularly known as Yaya Dub, was hacked at past midnight yesterday.
Members of Anonymous Philippines posted about the so-called Million Masked March from the Bonifacio Shrine to Mendiola tomorrow morning and called on the people to join the anti-corruption protest.
“The time has come to once again show the world that we, the people, care about the issues surrounding our beloved country,” the group said.
“We invite you to march peacefully with us towards change. Because sitting and doing nothing will get you nowhere. The people shouldn’t be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people,” it added.
The group apologized to Mendoza’s followers and promised to return the account to the owner.
“Sorry po if napadaan kami sa account ni yayadub, ibabalik din naming to sa tunay na mayari,” a tweet on Mendoza’s account read.
Mendoza was able to gain access to her Twitter account yesterday afternoon and deleted the hackers’ posts. Her supporters criticized the hackers for taking over the account.
In her first tweet after the hacking incident, Mendoza posted “Bawal ang sad, dapat happy! Kamusta kayo? Nagbabalik, Yaya Dub.”
She also informed her followers that her Instagram account is ”fine,” Facebook ”deactivated by hackers” and email “still inaccessible.”
Anonymous Philippines reiterated its apology in another statement, saying they have no malicious intentions.
“We just wanted to send a message to the public, and using Maine’s account is one of the easiest ways we could find. Rest assured that we are doing our best to contact the respectful owner of the said Twitter account with the purpose of giving them back their access,” said the group.
Anonymous Philippines previously owned up to hacking several government websites.
Social media expert Carlo Ople said Mendoza’s account was reported and locked down by Twitter following the hacking.
Mendoza, who has 2.4 million Twitter followers as of yesterday, was recognized as one of the fastest growing profiles on Twitter, next to American singers Taylor Swift and Katy Perry.
Kalyeserye, a popular segment of noontime show Eat Bulaga starring Mendoza and actor Alden Richards, has broken Twitter records at 41 million on Oct. 24 during a special show at the Philippine Arena.
In yesterday’s episode, Mendoza couldn’t hide her disappointment over the hacking while Richards tried his best to cheer her up.
Cybercrime
Republic Act 8792, or the E-commerce Law, imposes a minimum fine of P100,000 and imprisonment of six months to three years on anyone found guilty of hacking.
It defined the act as the “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.”
Republic Act 10175, also known as the Cybercrime Prevention Law, prohibits computer-related identity theft, or the “intentional acquisition, use, misuse, transfer, possession, alteration or deletion of identifying information belonging to another, whether natural or juridical, without right.”
Violators may face fines amounting to at least P200,000 and/or imprisonment of at least six years and one day to 12 years.