DICT training workers to protect cyberspace

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Information and Communications Technology will be conducting a nationwide upskilling to protect cyberspace nationwide, DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy said Thursday.

“Our target is nationwide. Currently, with the resources that we have, we’re currently upskilling government workers first. But it is within our program that within the year, we will deploy a more inclusive cyber training to the general public,” he said.

On Thursday, Uy announced plans to conduct information campaign on cybersecurity to help Filipinos become more aware of risks and threats in cyberspace.

Uy said that this effort is part of the country’s National Cybersecurity Plan 2024-2028 which has been presented to President Marcos amid reports of hacking attempts targeting government digital assets recently.

“We’re also doing more information campaign to make the public aware of the risks involved, what are the different schemes and scams that are out there,” he said.

Uy recalled the infamous ILOVEYOU virus in 2000 that affected millions of computer systems worldwide.

He said that could have been mitigated or prevented if the public was made more aware back then.

The malware was created by a Filipino who initially wanted to steal other users’ passwords so he could access the internet without paying.

Uy said cybercriminals are becoming more innovative with their approach.

“They are very adept in using what we call social engineering in order to steal your passwords, to coax into revealing your e-wallet accounts and so on,” he pointed out.

Uy also urged the public to visit the online platforms of DICT to get informed of the latest methods in online scams that cybercriminals are using.

Marcos earlier approved the cybersecurity plan 2024-2028 to provide the country with policy direction, operational guidelines in building its cybersecurity posture, as well as the fortification of Philippine cyberspace against online threats.

Uy personally announced this development in a press briefing in Malacañang on Thursday.

Uy said the cybersecurity plan was made in consultation with all the different stakeholders from public and private sectors including academe and compared this with similar plans of other countries.

The comprehensive plan will also cover the need to develop good policy to ensure a safe cyber landscape, identify cyber assets, infrastructure that needs protection, and provide government agencies and sectors with a guideline on how to respond to any cyberattack or hack attempt.

The plan also incorporated advanced threat assessment so that even before those incidents happen, the government could obtain information ahead from its international partners.

Another important component of the plan includes capacity building and upskilling of cybersecurity personnel, Uy said, adding that there are more than two million job vacancies for cybersecurity today.