PLDT, Microsoft partner to combat cybercrime

MANILA, Philippines — PLDT Inc. and technology giant Microsoft are teaming up for intelligence sharing to fight rising cybercrime activities in the country.

Under the partnership, PLDT and Microsoft will work together to strengthen the country’s digital borders and infrastructure security against cyberthreats through Microsoft’s Cyber Threat Intelligence Program (CTIP).

Microsoft’s CTIP is driven by an international team of technical, legal, and business experts called Digital Crimes Unit (DCU), which was created in 2008 to combat cybercrime on a global scale.

The partnership with Microsoft is expected to help fortify PLDT’s existing and robust cybersecurity capabilities in preventing and mitigating cyber threats and attacks.

“Our mature and sophisticated threat intelligence operations is one of the key and most robust pillars of the PLDT group’s cybersecurity structure,” said Angel Redoble, FVP, chief information security officer, and head of PLDT and Smart’s cybersecurity operations group.

“We are glad to partner with Microsoft to help fortify our strong cyberthreat intelligence operations, and to help us better protect our customers in particular, and the country’s cyber defenses in general,” he said.

PLDT and its wireless arm Smart invested nearly P3 billion in cybersecurity infrastructure in 2021 alone to safeguard over 70 million mobile and over 3.7 million broadband customers all over the country against emerging cyberthreats and vulnerabilities.

The major investments have strengthened the PLDT group’s predictive, preventive, detective, and responsive capabilities.

The increase of online usage and behavior has created a broader area of opportunity for cybercrime and malicious actors to target.

Last year, the country saw a wide range of cyberattacks, targeting stakeholders of public and private organizations, and even everyday consumers through mobile devices and social media platforms.

The PLDT Group, for its part, acquired information on more than 200 million cyberthreats and prevented close to 300 million combined types of cyberattacks last year.

“Security is at an inflection point as cyberattacks become more sophisticated and digital attack surfaces exponentially increase. We believe that anything less than comprehensive security is no security at all,” Microsoft Philippines country general manager Andres Ortola said.

“We are committed to ensuring the internet is safe and secure for all users and our DCU is leading the fight against cybercrime to protect businesses and individuals and to promote trust globally,” he said.

To date, Ortola said the DCU has completed 24 malware disruption operations worldwide, resulting in millions of devices kept safe from cybercriminals and preventing millions in financial losses.

DCU’s expertise and unique view into online criminal networks uncover evidence used as criminal referrals to law enforcement agencies throughout the world.

“Alongside PLDT, we can do more for the Philippines and empower a safer cyberspace for all Filipinos,” Ortola said.

With the partnership, PLDT will gain access to Microsoft DCU’s Azure-based cyberthreat intelligence in real time, providing information about the impact in the Philippines from the malware families DCU has disrupted in the past.

This intelligence will provide better insights into criminal cyber infrastructure located within their jurisdiction.

PLDT, in turn, with its network domain knowledge, can help in two-way sharing of intelligence to identify compromised infrastructure and alert impacted entities in the country to potential cybercrime threats.