Binay bats for stronger cyber security drive

Vice President Jejomar C. Binay batted for more focus on cyber resilience and protection of the country's national and international cyber infrastructure.

“The path ahead of us will be shaped primarily by the decisions and actions we now undertake, keeping in mind that technology can evolve in an exponential rate,” Binay said Tuesday during his keynote speech at the 2015 Asia-Pacific Security Congress.

During the event, the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) chairman stressed the need for strong multi-sectoral partnerships "in order to ensure that the future of cyber technology will be a secure and productive one.”

Binay went on to outline three principles of cybersecurity which he said should be observed by authorities.

“The first principle is about ensuring that the enhancement of cyber security is a multi - sectoral endeavor,” said the 2016 presidential aspirant.

While the government plays the leading role in synchronizing efforts among various institutions, the Vice President said “no effort will ever become successful without the full-blown participation of like-minded organizations, especially those coming from the private sector.”

Second, the opposition chieftain said it was necessary to harmonize legal restrictions and cyber security imperatives.

“Whatever measures we undertake and policies we implement, we must see to it that our actions do not run counter to universally recognized principles of freedom and human rights,” he said.

The Vice President said as a human rights lawyer, he was “very much aware that vested interests and unscrupulous entities can hijack policies and other mechanisms in order to serve their selfish goals, at the expense of individual rights such as the right to privacy".