PLDT joins global cyberdefense council

MANILA, Philippines — Telco giant PLDT Inc. has joined a newly formed global council of cybersecurity experts to promote a more proactive cybersecurity stance in securing networks, assets and customers.

PLDT said it has become a part of Cyber Defenders Council, an independent group of cybersecurity leaders from around the world, through its chief information security officer (CISO) Angel Redoble.

“The council is something that the community needs. For the longest time, we have been working in silos. While our enemies are banding together, getting stronger and better, we the good guys are doing things on our own,” Redoble said.

“We have reached the part where we not only collaborate but work together on a tactical and operational perspective,” he said.

PLDT said the council adopts a “defend forward” approach, which entails proactively disrupting malicious cyber activity before it reaches its target.

Redoble said it is important to keep abreast with ever evolving cyberthreats, especially since Philippine cyberspace is continuously growing.

“Cyberspace is highly dynamic. It is the only space that is growing: Our land is no longer growing, our air territory is not growing, our water territory is not growing. However, Philippine cyberspace is growing. And in that environment, the threats are growing, and the enemies are getting better. We cannot afford to be stagnant,” he said.

For Redoble, cybersecurity will only become more challenging, with decision-makers still slow to accept cybersecurity as important to business.

“The success of a cybersecurity practice starts with support from the decision makers,” he said.

The PLDT Group, for its part, has invested close to P2 billion into its cybersecurity operations center last year to combat cyberthreats.

As part of its relentless efforts in fortifying cyber defenses, PLDT earlier said it intends to spend P1 billion annually for cybersecurity moving forward.

PLDT Enterprise assistant vice president and head of cybersecurity business consulting Alexis Bernardino said that in terms of the current cybersecurity landscape, it is no longer a question of how companies will be breached or attacked, but a matter of when.

“Enterprises should operate on an assumed breach mode. Anticipate that you have been breached already. That should be the operating mode so that you would always stay vigilant that something might happen and you might be vulnerable to any cyberattack. It is also important to fortify your predictive and responsive capabilities and approach,” Bernardino said.

He said the partnership between public and private companies is also critical to ensuring a safer Philippine cyberspace. “The private sector can come in to share their best practices, threat intelligence, and cybersecurity expertise to help the government, which is leading the pack to create a safer and secured Philippine cyberspace.”