The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) confirmed that at least six government agencies in the Philippines received a bomb threat email today, February 12, 2024.
However, the CICC assured the public that there was no cause for alarm, as the email had been identified as a hoax. The CICC, together with the Philippine National Police and the MIS personnel of the affected agencies, traced the email to a domain name registered in Japan.
According to the CICC, the same email was also sent to multiple government agencies in Seoul, Korea, at about the same time. The agency said that this is not the first time that the alleged sender emailed bomb threats. Last year, the same email was sent to several government agencies, but no bombs were ever found.
DICT Secretary Ivan Uy is coordinating with the Japanese Embassy to investigate the origin of the email and identify the sender.
As part of the emergency protocols, the affected government agencies were advised to practice their emergency evacuation procedures as part of the agency’s preparedness.
