DICT strengthening measures vs cyber hackers

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Information and Communications Technology is keen on joining Tier 1 of the United Nations Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI), committing to the vision of achieving national cyber resilience, a DICT official has said.

“Our GCI score now is 93.49 from 77. This is 1.51 point short of being Tier 1. Because we are now at Tier 2,” DICT Undersecretary for infrastructure management, cybersecurity and upskilling Jeffrey Ian Dy said at the recent Philippine International Cybersecurity Conference in Pasay City.

Noting the GCI’s metrics in computing a country’s GCI score, Dy said the DICT will work on the protection and security of government cyber assets and the national cyberspace. increasing the cybersecurity workforce, and strengthening of the cybersecurity framework.

“The goal is not just protection. That is so 2010s. Our goal is no longer protection. Our goal is resilience. Our goal is proactive defense,” Dy said.

He admitted that the number of cyberattacks even on government agencies has been escalating.

“We are monitoring approximately 2.1 million threats per day targeting critical information infrastructure and government agencies. Most of which are defended (successfully),” Dy said.

He said the National Computer Emergency Response Team has handled a total of 2,207 incidents from January to September this year.

“That is pretty alarming because last year, the total was only 1,834,” he said. “Fifty-one percent of these attacks were targeting government, including government communication systems.”

He said that the increase in number and sophistication of attacks is a challenge that affects everyone – businesses, communities, and daily lives.