Technological University of the Philippines

Taguig Campus
Electronics Engineering Department

ECE LAWS, CONTRACT, AND ETHICS

RA 9292 Violation Case Study

Submitted By:
Del Rosario, John Ed
Submitted To:
Roman, Eliaquim B.
Engr. Danilo Miranda
Saludaga, Ronald D.C.
BS ECE LEP 3A
Date Submitted:
July 4,2020
 Introduction
This means that this situational example
This case study tends to apply the practice declared under the is made by the authors of this
document for this give sites on the
laws governing the practice of Electronics Engineering. The examples significance of the Electronics
Engineering Law of 2004 for licensed
done are explaining the importance of the remembering and following Engineers as they take on the field for
their service and actions.
the created laws. It will serve as a guide to be a responsible electronics

engineer that he/she must be careful of his/her actions because it can

lead into serious damage control. Also the example given teaches us that

in signing a legally binding agreement you must be fully prepared. That

when given a task, you must be well qualified to do the job well in a

short period of time because failure to do so can have heavy

consequences depending on the details of the contract. This case study

shows scenarios that can possibly happen in some circumstances that

will also involve the ethics and obligations of an electronics engineer.


This action made on illegal
wiretapping on a telecommunication
company’s passive arbitrary
interconnection device without
considering his job position and
profession is contrary to the law of
RA 9292 and its principles where he
have bound into as he take on this
position.
Case 3
Engineer B, an electronics engineer working at a
telecommunications company decided to have fun and illegally This do not only concerns one
governing law of Electronics
wiretapped on one of the distribution frames. Wiretapping in the Engineers but it can also be raised
on other governing laws in our
distribution frame can make an illegal connection thus the engineer can country relating privacy in terms
of communication
overhear what the other line are talking. And as engineer B decided to
listen on the conversation on the other line, Engineer C caught what
engineer B is doing and soon reported the malicious action to the higher
officials of the company. The higher officials then interrogate engineer B
for what he has done and then engineer B explain his side that he only
done it for fun. The company then decided to temporarily suspend
engineer B from working as a result of his unprofessional actions.
 Analysis and Conclusion:
What Engineer C has done is correct because as stated in R.A

9292 of the Section 35 Penal Provisions: “Any person holding a certificate

of registration and professional identification card as Professional

Electronics Engineer, Electronics Engineer or Electronics technician who

Wiretapping without work- shall be involved in illegal wire-tapping, cloning, hacking, cracking, piracy
related concerns and
permission violates the RA and/or other forms of unauthorized, malicious electronic eavesdropping
9292 law for every licensed
engineer must know that this and/or use of any electronic devices in violation of the piracy of another
law emphasizes that malicious
action concerning the using of or in disregard of the privilege of private communications and/or safety
illegal taping with any forms of
way or use of device to invades to life, physical or intellectual property of others, or shall maintain an
someone boundary of privacy
in communication have unlicensed and/or unregistered communications system or device”. Even
consequences that could affect
their profession and licensure. if it is for fun, the privacy of the other people will be greatly affected and

the engineer can hear unnecessary things that must be only in between

of the two callers.

Also it is stated as well in the Republic Act No. 4200 AN ACT TO PROHIBIT The consequence of his action
invaded the privacy of the both users
AND PENALIZE WIRE TAPPING AND OTHER RELATED VIOLATIONS OF on both lines and this action sets to
be unethical for we want to have our
THEPRIVACY OF COMMUNICATION, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. own private spaces, we must respect
the boundaries of other as well. This
principle should also be kept by
Section 1. It shall be unlawful for any person, not being authorized by all someone who is in a trusted position
wholeheartedly.
the parties to any private communication spoken word, to tap any wire

or cable, or by using any other device or arrangement, to secretly

overhear, intercept, or record such communication or spoken word by

using a device commonly known as a dictaphone or dictagraph or

dictaphone or walkie-talkie or tape recorder. Once caught in the act of

these various situations can result a punishment of he/she must pay a

fine of not less than One hundred thousand pesos nor more than One

million pesos or by imprisonment of not less than six months nor more

than six years, or both, in the discretion of the court. Having fun is not a

problem but if it done without considering the law in your field can lead

to serious problems. The engineer is unethical for he does not follow the

rules stated and do not consider the privacy of the parties affected.
ECE Board Examinations: Examinees allege there was leakage:
Aspiring graduates of Electronics and
CEBU, Philippines – At least 15 Electronics and Communications Engineering Communications Engineering and
graduates in the Visayas and Mindanao, who took the recent board exam in PRC board exam takers from Visayas
and Mindanao raised concerns
regarding an issue that involves an
alleged leakage for the said
examination.

The graduates elaborated that the
leakage for the board examination
actually came out on the same day and
from the copy of leakage questionnaire
it shows that 13 questions (an
equivalent of 26% of the 50 item test)
actually came out.
According to them the leaked-
questions came from Excel
Review Center.
Cebu are asking the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to investigate
the alleged leakage in the examination.
The graduates, who requested to anonymity out of fear, sought the assistance
of the media yesterday, a day after the exam, citing information shared to them
by some of the examinees.
They, however, assured to cooperate should there be formal investigation on
the matter.
A copy of the supposed leakage shows several questions in the math subject
that allegedly came out during the examination last Sunday.
According to them, at least 13 questions from the "leaked-questionnaire" in
Math came out during the board exam. The leaked questions comprise 26
percent of the 50-item test for the subject.
The graduates said the percentage is already big enough to help those who got
Even small number of items
the leakage to pass the exam because the passing percentage is only 70 percent
occurred; this is a big deal that it will
for each of the four subjects -- Math, General Engineering and Applied
be an unfair case for other students
Sciences, Electronics Engineering and Electronics System and Technologies.
who are also taking the examination.
They allegedly got the leaked-questions from another board taker, who
reviewed at Excel Review Center.
According to them, the questionnaire was showed to those who reviewed at
Excel during their final coaching day.
The complainants said they did not believe at first until last Sunday when they
found out that some of the questions in the board exam were exactly the same. The said issue did not only occur in
They were also surprised that most of the questions that came out in the EST one subject but also to a subject
subject were standard, which they claimed that Excel reviewees knew it called Electronics System and
beforehand. Technology.

The Vice President of the said review
center admitted that they are providing
all of their reviewees some take-home
questionnaires with corresponding
answer but he denied they are leakage.
In fact, some Excel reviewees were jubilant after the test last Sunday claiming
that they are 80 percent sure of passing the board. The board exam in Cebu
was held in the University of Cebu Main Campus and in the Southwestern
University.
Engineer Santos Cuervo, vice president of Excel Review Center, denied the
insinuations that their review center obtained a leakage from the Board of
Electronics Engineering that prepares the questions.
The Board is chaired by Engineer Sylvia Marcelo.
Marcelo was not available for comment as of press time.
Cuervo admitted having provided their reviewees with take-home
questionnaires with corresponding answers but denied those were leaked-
questions.
Cuervo said if it was true that some of the review questions they provided
came out during the board it was just coincidence.
He explained that it was possible that the examiners who prepared the board
exam questions used the same reference as them.
"Posible na nga nagkapareha tungod kay may mga questions nga kopyahon lang
og largo sa reference book," Cuervo said.
Cuervo said this is not the first time that such incident occurred during board
exams.
"It already happened in the past, kami gud sa Excel kusog mi mo-research. Mo-
palit gani mi og on-line reference kun wala dinhi sa Pilipinas," Cuervo said.
With all the accusation being
Cuervo urged those who claimed that there was a leakage in the board exam to thrown, the Vice president is
file the appropriate complaint before the PRC. He said they are willing to willing to cooperate to conduct a
cooperate should there be a formal investigation. formal investigation from anyone
who claimed or accused them that
there was a leakage coming from
their review center for the ECE
board exams.
Cuervo also claimed that the complaints maybe orchestrated by their rival
review centers.

The graduates who exposed the alleged irregularity, however, said they were
not prodded by anyone to complain. They only want fair play.

Some of those who complained graduated with honors in respected

universities in Cebu, Visayas and Mindanao.

In fact, one member of the group was a national quiz-bowler.

They have decided to come out before the release of the results to avoid
accusations that they are doing it because they failed. In fact, they expressed
willingness to re-take the exam even if would pass should the PRC order a
retake. -/NLQ (FREEMAN)

Oplan Cyber Tokhang's 'hacking' device: Psychological warfare

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Two weeks ago, the Duterte Cyber Warriors
(DCW) Facebook page released photos of a "mobile offensive tool", a stingray
device that could reportedly monitor Wi-Fi and cellphone traffic within tens of
feet to disrupt the communication of people joining the anti-Marcos rally on
November 25.

On November 14, the group announced they were engaging in psychological

operations or psy ops.

On the same day, they hinted at what they called a “stingray” device.

On November 19, the page released photos of a D-I-Y (do-it-yourself) stingray

device that they referred to as the "mobile offensive tool."

The post said that all that operatives have to do is to approach a target and Their first way of psychological
then DCW would handle the rest, which supposedly includes getting operations is through invading on
information from the person and monitoring his or her activities. privacy for online accounts.

It was perceived by many as a threat to their privacy, if not the security of their
online accounts.

Sowing intrigue

More than a week had passed since they announced the existence of this so-
called device but it still wasn't creating the buzz they wanted it to make.

In a chat interview, DCW's main tech guy Salim McDoom (a pseudonym), often
referred to as "Master" or "Doctor" by the group, related the story to Rappler.
McDoom said they monitored the "Cyber Tokhang" conversation online,
building a script that automatically searches the term. "We were watching how
it would spread."

The term “Oplan Cyber Tokhang” (OCT) is inspired by the Philippine National
Police's Oplan TokHang, where cops knock on the doors of suspected drug
users and dealers.

"TokHang" is a contraction of the Visayan words "toktok" (knock) and "hangyo"

(request). Despite the similarity in names, OCT is neither affiliated nor an online
counterpart of the government's Oplan TokHang. (READ: Oplan Cyber Tokhang
on Facebook: 'Extrajudicial reporting’)

A few days before the November 25 rally, several Facebook users were locked
out of their accounts. Speculations surfaced about what caused it, including the
possibility of a group intending to hack or take down their accounts.

Due to a public callout for “social media war” by DCW the week prior to the
incident, some people were quick to point fingers at them. DCW saw this as an
opportunity. It was "a nice coincidence," McDoom said.

"It wasn't being discussed in any IT/infosec forums yet" until the news of the
Facebook lockouts came about. DCW saw how the term began to spread in the
Ateneo community so they decided to ride the wave.
On their Facebook page, DCW checked into Katipunan Avenue on November 25
– this is where the Ateneo de Manila University is located – and posted this
message to “intrigue” the community there.

McDoom described that post as "cryptic”, adding that they “were careful not to
claim responsibility for any hacking."

That post generated about 25 comments, including: "Cyber terrorism is

punishable by law, sirs. You better tread carefully" and "You've crossed the
line”.

The motive to sow intrigue became successful.

"The main purpose was to get their attention as quick as possible so they can
spread our fabricated story," he said.

McDoom said their announcement about a hacking “device” was necessary

because mass reporting alone would not make such a big impact because
anyone can do it. "In reality, no one would post their criminal intent," he
added.

Facebook echo chamber

In an email to Rappler on November 28, Facebook took responsibility for the
lockouts, saying it was caused by a bug in their system that detects when an
account is compromised.

But this explanation does not adequately cover other lockouts caused by other
users asking Facebook to review accounts and pages that were allegedly
violating Facebook community standards, when this was actually not the case.

McDoom admitted they resorted to “mass reporting”, saying it is "a good

exercise" for their community "to vent their frustrations."

"We encourage them to report posts inciting sedition, but Facebook still has
the authority [to determine] which post goes against their community
guidelines," he added. He also said it is the DCW administrators who identify
posts that can be classified as “inciting sedition.”

On November 30, Leollard Riyoh, a staunch supporter of Philippine President

Rodrigo Duterte who also coined the name “Duterte Cyber Warriors”, released
a video blaming "anti-Marcos and anti-Duterte" followers for taking down their
Facebook group.

"Akala nila hina-hack natin sila," he said. (They thought we're hacking them.)
He then went on to say they lied about the stingray device to “manipulate” and
condition the minds of people into feeling scared.
It was Riyoh too who, in a video, called for volunteers – giving special mention
to Information Technology (IT) experts and programmers – to join a social
media civil war they referred to as “Oplan Cyber Tokhang” against the so-called
“Yellow Army”.

In an interview with Rappler, DCW said that all the videos that Riyoh posted
related to OCT and DCW were part of their psy ops to trick "biased media" and
expose their vulnerability when they write reports "without fact checking.”

The group also claimed that their IT volunteers did not and will not engage in
any hacking activity and that they are only needed to "analyze critically and
professionally" data from what they perceive to be “incorrect” posts of the
media. Rappler is not exempted from the list, they said.

"Facebook has an algorithm that creates echo chambers and they designed it
this way because tribalism is embedded in our DNA," McDoom said.

While several have written about the dangers in social media echo chambers
over the past year, McDoom thinks there is value in them.

"Magiging magulo ang social media kung di mako-contain yung mga views and
opinions in separate channels," he said. (Social Media will be chaotic if we can't
contain views and opinions in separate channels.)

Stingray device and NTC permit

In theory, the existence of DCW's stringray device can spoof a cell site, thereby
making nearby cell phones vulnerable to hacks.

"I wouldn't be surprised at all if some unscrupulous person/s have already been
doing this out there," said engineer Pierre Tito Galla, co-founder of
cybersecurity watchdog group Democracy.Net.PH.

A source from the telco industry, who requested anonymity and is familiar with
the issue, said he is not sure if their cell towers are safe from an attack like that,
but if such device is legitimate, it should have a permit from the National
Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

There’s a way of going around it, however.

"Any device that has a transmit/receive capablity via radio frequency (RF)
emissions requires NTC-type approval but since DCW's device is 'homebrew'
from parts that can be sourced legally, and are not illegal in and of themselves,
the device avoids being inspected by NTC," Galla explained.

NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba told Rappler that they have not
authorized the device. "I don't know about homebrewing such device, but it
has to pass through our licensing."
Anyone who will engage in illegal wiretapping or hacking will be punished
under the Republic Act (RA) 9292 or the the Electronics Engineering Law of
2004, he continued.

The stringray showed by DCW is an International Mobile Subscriber Identity

(IMSI) catcher and can be made using programmable microprocessors or micro-
controllers such as Arduino, Raspberry Pi boards, and wireless routers, all of
which can be ordered online and shipped straight to your door.

"Anyone can assemble the device," DCW said. Several information technology
(IT) and computer experts, whom we approached, agreed and said the device is
easy to put together.

The difficulty for most people lies in writing the code and converting whatever
machine-encrypted data they gather into human readable data. Most codes for
these purposes, however, can be copy-pasted from the web and various
developers' forums, Galla said.

It can obtain details like your cellphone number, the hardware, the regular
SMS, and phone calls. They could snoop, but secured apps, such as those used
by more modern media sites, will not be affected because they are encrypted,
explained a veteran computer engineer who also requested anonymity.

They can trace the transmissions but they can't pretend to be you, which is the
point of hacking.
Rappler developer Emmanuel Santiago, an information technologist, and
Rappler photojournalist Martin San Diego, a computer science graduate, both
think it's possible to hack with the help of the DCW stingray device but believe
there are easier ways to achieve a goal like that.

They cited social engineering as an example, which involves tricking people into
breaking normal security procedures such as phishing, tailgating, and many
more.

Cybersecurity above all

"This social experiment is one way to educate anyone using the Internet to
secure themselves," DCW said.

Whether any of the cyber attacks you hear are true or not, it's always best to
stay safe.

Ways to protect yourself from these types of attacks include:

securing your wireless network

making sure you're using encrypted and secured sites and apps

using unique passwords

installing a trusted security software

simply being careful with emails