Police stations will have cybercrime desks soon

MANILA, Philippines — Taking proactive measures to address cybercrimes, police stations across the country will soon have cybercrime desks, according to the Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG).

“We will train local police investigators,” ACG spokesperson Capt. Michelle Sabino said in Filipino during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay media forum yesterday.

Sabino said the ideal setup would be at least two cybercrime desks in every police station.

The ACG can focus on major operations once police stations become capable of investigating cybercrimes, Sabino noted.

Philippine National Police chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. earlier said he wanted other regional offices to replicate the National Capital Region Police Office’s initiative to train officers on cybercrime investigation.

Cybercriminals continued to target small and medium enterprises in the Philippines in the first half of 2023, as attempts to hack SMEs increased by more than 325 percent from the same period last year, according to multinational cybersecurity firm Kaspersky.

“It’s always easy and popular to think that your business is too small to be a target. Whatever business you’re in, as long as you’re using at least a computer or a mobile device that’s connected to the internet, you’re vulnerable to a cyber incident,” said Kaspersky general manager for Southeast Asia Siang Tiong Yeo.

Cyberhackers are using malware, or malicious software, disguised as business software for video conferencing and office applications, Kaspersky noted.

There were 1,847 unique hits against Kaspersky’s SME clients in the Philippines that were detected and blocked from January to June 2023, a far cry from only 434 in the same period in 2022.

A unique hit refers to the number of times cybercriminals attempted to attack.

Kaspersky recommended SMEs to conduct basic cybersecurity hygiene training, among others. — Rainier Allan Ronda