Philippines
National
Hacking of gov't agencies' IT systems a 'cause for concern' – Gibo
Hacking of gov't agencies' IT systems a 'cause for concern' – Gibo
The reported series of cybersecurity attacks targeting government agencies’ information system (IT) is a cause for concern, Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. said.
As such, Teodoro said that the attacks should serve as a warning for government agencies to strengthen their preventive measures to prevent falling prey to hackers.
“This is really a cause for concern but this is to be expected and guarded against. Everyday that you have an IT platform or system, you should expect this and the measures that you will take to prevent or to remedy the incidents of hacking,” he stated.
The latest agency to be victimized by hacking is the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) after a registry of Filipino science experts was reportedly leaked.
Aside from the DOST, other agencies victimized by data breach recently include Philhealth, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), and Department of Education (DepEd).
On the other hand, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said it was investigating whether its Forensic Group was affected by a hacking incident involving its database.
“Kailangan magising tayo kung anong mga sistema ang kinukuha natin at pag-aralan natin ang vulnerabilities nito. Hindi ko naman ina-isolate sa isang system o isang bansa pero wake-up call ‘yan sa lahat ng acquisitions natin na may vulnerabilities (We need to be fuly aware of the systems that we are getting and study its vulnerabilities. I don’t want to isolate any system or any country but this is a wake-up call to all that our acquisitions have vulnerabilities),” Teodoro said.
“Kailangan ahead tayo sa curve dahil kahit napakataas ng technology nabubutasan ito kapag may katagalan na We need to be ahead of the curve because even if the technology that we use is advanced, loopholes occur after sometime),” he added.
The defense chief called on authorities to invest in fortifying their cybersecurity defenses and enhancing the skills of their cybersecurity personnel as he described the modern era as a “constant battle of technology.”
“Malaki ang gastos dito na kailangan, hindi lang sa platforms maging sa pagtraining ng ating mga tao. Hindi overnight ito. Matagal na bini-build ang information technology hygiene at architecture (It needs a hefty budget, not only for the platforms but also for the training of our personnel. This is not an overnight thing. It takes a long time to build information technology hygiene and architecture),” Teodoro stressed.