With cybercrimes becoming more prevalent with the advent of technology, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said it needs at least 1,500 more tech-savvy policemen to address this growing threat.
The PNP recruitment effort may be a coincidence, but it comes in the wake of Kaspersky Labs’ revelation about new spywareSandStrike that targets android users.
“To lure victims into downloading the spyware implants, adversaries set up Facebook and Instagram accounts with more than 1,000 followers and designed attractive religious-themed graphic materials, setting up an effective trap for adherents of this belief. Most of these social media accounts contain a link to a Telegram channel also created by the attacker,” said Kaspersky Lab, a Russian multinational cybersecurity and anti-virus provider, in its Nov. 1 report.
With this new spyware, plus the country’s shift to digital transactions that was hastened by the Covid-19 pandemic, the PNP has to act swiftly before more Filipinos fall prey tothe schemes of these cybercriminals.
Early this year, UNICEF disclosed that millions of Filipinos have already been victimized in cyberspace.
“A report from the Department of Justice-Office of Cybercrime saw an exponential increase in cyber tip reports for the Philippines to 2.8 million in 2021, from 1.2 million in 2020 and 400,000 in 2019, the UNICEF said in its report to mark Safer Internet Day in February. The figures speak of children only.
Another challenge the PNP cybercops has to deal with are the spam text messages, where links are attached to lure unsuspecting victims into unconsciously opening themselves to identity theft. These spam messages have become widespread but telecommunications companies seem helpless in addressing the problem.
With telcos unable to protect its customers from these cybercriminals, the public needs all the help these cybercops and other law enforcement arms of the government can extend.
Notwithstanding this gargantuan task of waging war in cyberspace, PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin, Jr. only has a modest objective—recruiting 500 new policemen or just a third of the desired number of personnel.
At the blessing and turnover ceremony of the new Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) building in Camp Crame on Wednesday, Nov. 9, Azurin said the PNP will request funds for the recruitment of 500 more cops to beef up the ACG.
The government should heed Azurin’s call for funding support. With only 1,000 cops to wage war against the growing threat in cyberspace, to say the PNP needs help in cyberspace is an understatement. That is how enormous the problem is with cybercriminals.