The Philippines is ramping up cybersecurity

The Philippines is facing more cybersecurity threats after hackers attacked online government platforms. Moreover, Filipinos are receiving more online scams and schemes trying to fool them into giving their hard-earned money. Fortunately, authorities have deployed the latest tools and conducted training to curb these digital threats.

The government will do its best to protect the Filipino people against online threats worldwide. However, no nation can truly defend itself against cyber attacks without help from its citizens. People must be responsible for learning and avoiding the latest threats and schemes. As a result, the authorities can defend against technological threats further.

This article will discuss the Philippines’ cybersecurity measures. Later, I will cover the latest cybercrimes so that you can avoid falling for these schemes.

What are the Philippines’ cybersecurity programs?

Photo Credit: CICC

The Pearl of the Orient launched a joint training exercise involving the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center and various law enforcement agencies to boost its anti-cybercrime capabilities. It involved more than 70 members of the following agencies:

• Armed Forces of the Philippines
• Philippine National Police – National Capital Region Police Office (PNP-NCRP)
• Bureau of Customs (BOC)
• Bureau of Immigration (BI)

Global security company TRG hosted the three-day skills training courses at the National Cybercrime Hub in Taguig City. It involved open-source intelligence (OSINT) and national intelligence mapping platforms.

CICC Executive Director Alexander K. Ramos said the inter-agency training session should improve and fortify the Philippines’ law enforcement groups.

“We want to make sure that we increase the skill levels of our law enforcement agencies. We need to continuously build our capability using artificial intelligence to combat the evolving and emerging cyber threats,” Ramos explained.

Moreover, the executive director emphasized the need for various government agencies to receive hands-on exercises for target location, data analysis, and case management.

“The key here is inter-agency collaboration as this initiative seeks to bolster each of the agencies’ investigative capacity to ensure a cohesive and potent response to cyber threats,” Ramos said.

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The Philippines’ cybersecurity initiatives also involve government platforms. That is why the Department of Information and Communications Technology launched the Consumer Application Monitoring Systems (CAMS).

“This will be a useful tool to identify the performance and the problem with government applications,” DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy said. Here are its features:

• AI-powered vision enables CAMS to “see” errors and automate event detection.
• Moreover, it uses robots for multi-stage user journey automation. The machine can access apps by tapping buttons without human intervention.
• CAMS autonomous kits allow the platform to gather location-based data. As a result, it highlights areas that may require further assistance.

What are the most common online scams?

Even the most technologically advanced countries cannot provide 100% protection against online attacks. That is why people should know how to spot and avoid such schemes.

For example, popular online scams involve business or investment opportunities. A scammer may promise financial freedom by putting money into a fund. Often, they will promise huge returns from interest.

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However, you may not check and withdraw from your funds until you give more money. Also, scammers can create fake versions of popular websites to steal their money and personal data. Online scams may ask people to download apps.

Then, the strange application will access your phone remotely. Moreover, someone may impersonate your friend or family member, asking you to send money in digital currency. It is becoming more prevalent due to online wallets and artificial intelligence tools.

Conclusion

The Philippines has been ramping up its cybersecurity in response to growing threats. More government platforms are getting hacked, and online scams are rising.

In response, the authorities have launched training programs for law enforcement agencies. As a result, the CICC hopes they can prevent evolving online attacks.

Nevertheless, the country’s digitalization efforts are in full swing as more tech firms help build digital infrastructure. Learn more about these projects and more at Inquirer Tech.