Philippines to boost pool of talent vs cyberthreats
THE PHILIPPINES is increasing its talent pool in the fight against cybercrimes while boosting the sharing of information with international partners against all forms of digital threats, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) chief said on Thursday.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has approved a medium-term cybersecurity plan following a year that saw a significant increase in hacking incidents targeting both private and government assets.
The “comprehensive” plan identifies cyber assets and infrastructure that need to be protected and requires coordination among government agencies, DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy said at a Palace briefing, days after a meeting with the President.
“It provides how all of the different government agencies, the different sectors, whether its energy, transportation, finance sector can come together and address quick responses in case there are any attacks or any attempts,” Mr. Uy said.
He said the plan also includes an advance threat assessment to deter any potential attacks with the help of information from international partners.
“For instance, if an attack happens in the bank in another country, then we’ll have information exchange programs through our computer emergency response teams so that we can proactively advise our banks here,” he said.
At present, there are more than two million job vacancies for cybersecurity, and “this is attributable to the fact that during the pandemic, a lot of brick-and-mortar businesses have moved online,” Mr. Uy said.
The cost of cybercrime to the global economy surpassed $8 trillion in 2022, according to Evolve Security, citing data from global data and business intelligence platform, Statista.
The cost may go beyond $11 trillion in 2023, it said in a website post, adding that cybercrime could cost the global economy more than
$20 trillion by 2026, “a 1.5 times increase compared to figures in 2022.”
Also at the briefing, Gen. Benjamin C. Acorda, Jr., chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said online scams are the most common cybercrimes in the country.
The Philippines’ shopping scam rate hit 35.9%, the highest among 11 Asian countries surveyed, according to the 2023 Asia Scam Report, which was based on data collected from 20,000 respondents.
Mr. Uy said the government seeks to equip more of its workers with skills needed to deter threats confronting the cyber world and hopes to expand its cybersecurity training under a DICT academy to cover private individuals.
“Currently with the resources that we have, we’re currently upskilling government workers first,” he said. “But it’s in our program to be able to deploy more inclusive cyber training to the general public within the year.”
The government is also working with academic institutions for them to adopt the cybersecurity programs that the DICT has been curating, he added.
“And we are also working with industry to provide content,” he said, noting that private sector members like Google and Microsoft are offering certificate programs related to cybersecurity.
On entering into partnerships with private companies offering cybersecurity programs, Mr. Uy stated: “We are identifying which training components should be free and be given to the public. We will be negotiating with these companies to provide maybe a volume discount [for the public].”
In addition, he said the DICT would offer scholarship programs for highly skilled cybersecurity talents, especially those with “hacking” skills. Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin C. Abalos, Jr. on Tuesday said the problem of cybercrime, which is costing the global economy at least $3 trillion yearly, has gotten worse that it has already overtaken theft as the No. 1 crime in the Philippines.