THE Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said it monitors over two million cyber threats per day.
At a press conference organized by the Philippine Information Agency, DICT Undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy said many were not successful or were mere attempts, while others were minor cases. But he said every government agency and the private sector must remain vigilant.
“At any given day, approximately 2.1 million threats are being monitored by the National Security Operations Center. Not all of these threats are successful in attacking government or critical information structures,” Dy said.
Most of the attempts targeted government sites, Dy said. There are also many incidents targeting state colleges and universities, as well as the telecommunication industry.
“Fifty percent target government, 30 percent target academe – 80 percent na yun. Ten percent target the telecommunication industry, the remaining 10 percent is usually banking, health sectors, etc.,” Dy said.
Dy said he welcomes the World Bank’s $287.24 million loan for the Philippine Digital Infrastructure Project, which includes boosting the country’s cybersecurity.
The project will provide free Wi-Fi mostly in Mindanao, but $43 million is also dedicated to cybersecurity efforts nationwide. He said this will help build the capabilities of the National Security Operations Center and the country’s National Computer Emergency Response Team.
Dy asserted that it is very important to beef up cybersecurity efforts and to also expand internet connectivity to remote areas. He revealed that internet penetration in the Philippines is at 73.6 percent, but in parts of Mindanao, it’s less than 20 percent.
“For every 10 percent increase in internet penetration rate, the gross domestic product increases by approximately 1.38 percent,” Dy estimated.
Part of the loan will help improve and expand the monitoring teams of government. Dy said the National Security Operations Center, for one, can have real-time monitoring of government sites to see if they are being hacked or breached. (ABS-CBN News)
