Warning out on Holy Week cyber hackers

MANILA, Philippines — If Filipinos love long weekends, cyber criminals do, too, according to multinational cybersecurity giant Kaspersky.

As the country goes into its annual long Lenten holidays this week, Kaspersky reminded cyber and social media-savvy Filipino netizens to be wary of the mischief that cyber hackers will be up to as they ramp up their activities during the extended break.

Kapersky noted that the $81-million Bangladesh Bank heist perpetrated by hackers in 2016 was done during a long weekend.

“Unfortunately, cyber criminals get excited about holidays, too. To refresh everyone’s memory, the $81-million Bangladesh Bank heist back in 2016 is an example of a successful cyber attack, which happened on the first day of the Lunar New Year, a national holiday in the Philippines and the rest of Asia,” Kaspersky said.

There are 18 official public holidays in the Philippines and this 2023, there are 12 long weekends resulting from the 18 official public holidays and the holiday economics policy enforced by the government, according to the company.

“Now that the world has reopened, travel is back with a vengeance this year, hence the term ‘revenge travel.’ Whether Filipinos are scheduling holiday trips or just staycationing during long weekends, it’s important to observe simple digital security practices so you can get to sit back and relax as you take your well-deserved vacation,” Chris Connell, Kaspersky managing director for Asia Pacific, said.

“Security-first thinking opens doors for a more enjoyable holiday break, especially for Filipinos who are amongst the world’s most active online users,” Connell added.

He stressed that both individuals and companies should be extra mindful of personal cyber security best practices and internet hygiene during the long holidays.

For companies, Kaspersky said they should conduct drills to remind vacationing employees on the need to ensure data encryption, two-factor authentication, keeping strong passwords and locking devices when not in use.

These drills should reinforce the need to remember the steps to take if their device ends up getting stolen, about the hazards of charging smartphones through a wall socket and not through USBs at airports and other public places, as these can be used to steal data from a device and infect it with malicious software, such as spyware.

Kaspersky said companies should also urge employees to log out and terminate unnecessary virtual private network or VPN connections to the corporate infrastructure; end unnecessary sessions that employees have left on any device for an extended period of time and check that the list of employees with access to the corporate network via VPN or remote desktop protocol include only authorized users.

For individuals, Kaspersky advised them to only browse trusted apps and websites and avoid clicking on links or opening email attachments from travel sites when receiving confirmations.

“Trusted companies include such letters in the bodies of their emails. Malware is often disguised as an attached confirmation letter,” it said.

Kaspersky gave these other tips:

• Bring two or three or more credit or debit cards to have a backup plan in case of loss or need to cancel one.

• Never leave valuables unattended. Put large amounts of cash and mobile devices or laptops in the hotel safe.

• Use a credit card as most have built-in protections against fraud. There is no protection against a scammer if you send them cash or even check or debit card payment in some cases. A money transfer service is not advisable.

• Ensure their devices have security software installed, ideally with anti-theft technology.

Kaspersky is a global cyber security and digital privacy company founded in 1997.

Cybercrime chatbot

The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) is launching its digital assistant – the CYRI chatbot – to ensure the continued gathering of cybercrime complaints round-the-clock, any day of the week, in time for this long Lenten break.

The CICC said the CYRI chatbot would be open even on Holy Thursday and Good Friday.

CYRI is a combination of the syllables CY, derived from the word cyber, and RI, taken from the word crime. In Greek, the name CYRI means powerful, perfectionist and capable.

CICC executive director Alexander Ramos expressed hope that CYRI will help boost the agency’s capability in fighting cybercrimes.

“Through CYRI, we can immediately get complaints and concerns related to cybercrimes, data privacy and SIM registration,” Ramos said.

“Our agents on duty can immediately advise or act on a complaint 24/7,” he added.

Complainants can chat with CYRI either in English or Filipino. Other regional languages such as Cebuano and Ilocano will be introduced soon.

“People can soon choose the language that they understand and they can relate with and feel more confident in answering questions,” Ramos said.

The CICC assured thae public there is no danger of case or identity leaks of complainants as the CYRI chatbot is covered by the agency’s privacy policy.

To chat with CYRI, the CICC said that complainants should visit https://www.facebook.com/CICCgovph.

Those who prefer to talk directly to agents can call the Inter-Agency Response Center hotline 1326 which is open 24 hours daily, even during the Holy Week.

Don’t post

People who are going on a long vacation during the Holy Week break should refrain from posting their travel tickets on their social media accounts, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said yesterday.

PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo urged travelers not to post their travel tickets and their whereabouts online so as not to alert criminals that their houses are unattended.

“Let’s not post our plane tickets, our bus tickets, and we keep doing this to remind the public against criminals who monitor on cyberscape,” Fajardo said in Filipino at the Laging Handa briefing.

Unlike in the past three years, when the country was under stricter quarantine protocols due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people can move without restrictions this year.

With activities now on pre-pandemic levels, criminals have returned to their nefarious activities.

“On the part of the PNP, expect our maximum visibility in areas of convergence to remain until the end of the Holy Week and for the duration of the summer season,” Fajardo said.

The PNP went on heightened alert over the weekend, which means that 80 percent of the 227,000-strong police force are available for deployment.

With nearly 78,000 police officers on deck, Fajardo assured the public that all security measures are in place to ensure the public’s safety during Holy Week.

Fajardo urged travelers to arrive early at transport terminals to avoid the influx of people.

“Do not bring large baggage anymore because expect that traveling will be crowded these days,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Taguig City government recently opened The Life of Christ in TLC Village in Barangay Lower Bicutan to give residents a place and time to reflect during the Lenten season.

Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano said constituents can reflect on Jesus Christ’s passion, death and resurrection on various corners of the park, which features the Stations of the Cross, prayer corner and prayer boxes and art installations.

Cayetano expressed hope that regardless of spiritual affiliations and ways of celebrating the Holy Week, people will focus on being grateful for the greatest sacrifice of Jesus Christ who saved us from our sins.

“I also encourage the younger generation to  study and experience the passion of the Christ, especially at this time, when our youth are going through so many trials,” she said in a statement. – Emmanuel Tupas