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Unauthorized Access
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Tarlac Agricultural University (TAU)

Tarlac Agricultural University's student portal was breached by the Pinoy Grayhats group as part of a coordinated wave of attacks on Philippine school websites in June 2020.

June 17, 2020Camiling, Tarlac, Central LuzonUnknown records affected

Key Facts

Date of Incident
June 17, 2020
Date Discovered
June 17, 2020
Records Affected
Unknown
Source
Manila Bulletin
Data Types Exposed
Student portal data
Response / Action Taken

No official public statement from TAU at the time of reporting.

What Happened

On June 17, 2020, Tarlac Agricultural University's student portal (tau.edu.ph) was breached by the hacker group Pinoy Grayhats. The attack was part of a coordinated campaign targeting multiple Philippine universities on the same day, including FEU, Cebu Normal University, University of St. La Salle, ICCT Colleges, and AMA University.

Broader Context

TAU was one of over 20 Philippine schools hacked in June 2020 alone. The attacks coincided with the transition to online education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

How to Prevent This

  1. 1.Conduct penetration testing before deploying student portals — especially when transitioning systems online rapidly
  2. 2.Use parameterized queries — prevent SQL injection attacks
  3. 3.Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) — to block common web attacks
  4. 4.Enforce strong authentication — require MFA for all admin accounts
  5. 5.Keep all server software updated — patch known vulnerabilities promptly

Sources & References

  1. [1]
    Manila Bulletin — Anatomy of a hack: How hackers breached vulnerable PH schools — TAU mentioned (July 1, 2020)
  2. [2]
    Secuna Blog — More than 20 Philippine schools hacked just this June — TAU listed among affected institutions
  3. [3]
    GitHub (ajdumanhug/gothacked) — Registry of Philippine school hacking incidents — TAU listed June 17, 2020 by Pinoy Grayhats
TAUTarlacstudent portalPinoy GrayhatsCOVID-19 online learning