The official Instagram account of the Presidential Communications Operations Office has been hacked, a Communications official announced on Wednesday.
PCOO Assistant Secretary for Global Media and Public Affairs Jusan Vincent Arcena denounced the attempt by the still unidentified individuals to have access to the Communications department’s Instagram page.
The hackers changed the account’s display photo and caption with Arabic letters and uploaded videos that showed a camel race.
The photos that were previously posted also disappeared, as well as the 18,900 followers.
But within the day the account’s contents had been restored, as well as the 18,900 followers.
Arcena told the public to ignore any Instagram posts on the PCOO page by the hackers.
“We decry the malicious act by unknown individuals who hacked the Presidential Communications Operations Office’s Instagram Page, with the handle @pcoogov,” Arcena said in a statement.
“In the meantime, we ask our followers to disregard any present and future activities on our Instagram page, until such time that the matter is resolved.”
Arcena said the PCOO had already requested social media giant Facebook, which has control over Instagram, to lock its hacked account.
He assured the public that the PCOO was taking immediate action to address the issue.
“The account has been locked by Facebook’s team so that hackers will no longer be able to use the account, Arcena said.
“We are now looking into this matter and have coordinated with Facebook to resolve it immediately.” With PNA