Canada extends helping hand to Philippines in tackling cybersecurity

MANILA, Philippines — The Canadian government has expressed willingness to help the Philippines address cybersecurity threats, its top diplomat to the country said.

“Now, more than ever, with the growing threat from the proliferation of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing, like-minded countries must work together to build a resilient and adaptable cyber workforce for the future; indeed, one trained and ready for the whatever the future may hold,” Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines David Hartman said.

“It is in this light, my friends, that Canada is prepared to work hand-in-hand with the Philippines to build this capacity together.”

Hartman spoke during the recent cybersecurity conference organized by the Stratbase Institute in partnership with the Canadian Embassy.

Canadian Centre for Cyber Security head Sami Khoury also noted the need for international partnership in addressing cybersecurity threats.

“I’m proud to be here in the Philippines. We look forward to being international partners on the cybersecurity front. Cyber knows no boundaries. So the cyber threat actors don’t stop at Canada just because or don’t stop at the Philippines because they don’t intend to go out of the Philippines,” Khoury said.

“(We need to know) how do we work together, how do we learn from each other, how do we share, how do we make each other as an early warning system of cyber—you see something here and you might be patient zero-- how do we learn from that patient zero so we can stop threats elsewhere. It’s all about building that international team cyber and protect our society,” he said.

For his part, Stratbase Institute COO RP Manhit said strengthening the Philippine cyber landscape needs a whole-of-society approach to promote a basic understanding of potential risks and threats, and highlight opportunities for growth.

“We are only as strong as our weakest link. Together, let us work together to train our people, to legislate and implement sound regulatory frameworks, to invest in technology, and to work with like-minded partners and commit to a stronger cyber landscape in the Philippines,” he said.

Manhit added that having a cyber resilient society is important to encourage more investments in the country.

“A thriving digital economy backed by safe and secure cybersecurity strategies gives the Philippines a strategic and competitive advantage to attract – and keep – investors. Cybersecurity issues have the potential to influence the operations of businesses across different sectors and the country’s national economic growth,” he said.

In the same conference, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said cooperation among like-minded nations is inevitable especially in the areas of digitalization and economic development.

“In today’s fast-paced, modern, and interconnected world, it is inevitable that we fortify cyber cooperation toward digital security – as the title of this event suggests. And I believe today’s conference is a strong testament to our commitment to doing such, especially seeing astounding participation from different sectors of society, including members from the international community,” she said.

Pangandaman said the cybersecurity remains a paramount concern for DBM as they transition to digitalization.

“Our ICT Group has strategically allocated 20.92 percent of the Department’s ICT budget to cybersecurity projects, which is notably even higher than the 10 percent internationally recommended standard based on the report published by the Deloitte Center for Financial Services and the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center, the only global information-sharing community focused solely on financial services,” she said.

The two-day cybersecurity conference gathered relevant stakeholders in cybersecurity including top government officials, key private sector leaders and experts from the academe and civil society organizations, who shared their knowledge and explored innovative solutions to counter cyber risks and ensure digital security.