Digital transformation on track: DICT's ongoing efforts pave PH's way to entering digitalization

In 2023, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) was immersed in addressing hacking incidents, bolstering cyber defenses, and channeling significant efforts into transforming the government system into a digital platform.

The country's ICT department also concentrated all its efforts on realizing the objectives set by the current administration—specifically, on advancing the nation's development and propelling it into the digital age.

DICT Assistant Secretary and Spokesperson Renato Paraiso underscored that the agency is on track with the current administration's vision to focus on digitalizing the country.

"In fact, in the latest report from the DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) Board of Investments, we have successfully attracted many investors due to the various engagements of our president and his executives, including the DICT," Paraiso told Manila Bulletin in an interview on Dec. 28.

"We have attracted numerous investors, including 3 billion dollars worth of foreign investments geared towards ICT data centers," he added.

Fostering the country's cyber posture

Several months ago, simultaneous hacking incidents created a buzz, appearing in various news headlines and sparking hotspots of social media debates.

One of the major cybercrime attacks was when the Medusa ransomware group illegally acquired data by successfully penetrating the cybersecurity of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) website last Sept. 22.

This was followed by local actors targeting the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Oct. 7 and the House of Representatives website on Oct. 15.

Due to previous cybercrime incidents where various government agency-owned websites were compromised by international and local online perpetrators, it has garnered significant attention.

One by one, different agencies have sought the assistance of the country's ICT department to enhance their cybersecurity posture.

Paraiso emphasized that cyber-attacks occur daily, affecting not only government-owned systems but also private sectors.

"Unfortunately, there are events where government systems are hacked, but it has raised awareness, and various government agencies have approached the DICT to conduct VAPT (Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing) testing for their systems," he said.

The DICT has been actively engaged for several months, dedicating its efforts to assisting various government agencies in enhancing their cybersecurity measures.

"They proactively ask for our help, and at the same time, they have started planning on their own to procure upgraded systems to address the gaps they have in terms of cybersecurity posture and capabilities," Paraiso said.

SIM card registration

As of Oct. 22, the National Telecommunication Commission (NTC) has recorded 122,680,015 Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card registrants.

As per NTC, out of the total registered SIM cards, 55,338,557 belong to Smart users, 58,194,995 are Globe users, and 9,146,463 are DITO users.

In 2023, after numerous deadline extensions, SIM registration concluded on July 25 based on the SIM Registration Act.

READ:

https://mb.com.ph/2023/7/25/last-chance-dict-urges-public-to-register-their-si-ms-before-july-25-ends 

However, despite the significant decrease in the number of text scams that SIM card users received due to the mandatory SIM registration law, online perpetrators adjusted and switched to other alternative platforms, specifically over-the-top services (OTPS) providers such as Messenger and Viber.

"When it comes to our social media entities with messaging features, such as TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube, we have reached out to these social media platforms," Paraiso said.

"We devised a memorandum of agreement wherein they would revise their community policies to align with Filipino traditions and needs, especially to prevent these kinds of scams," he added.

Scam reports

In a study last November, among 11 Asian countries (Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, China, and Indonesia), the Philippines had the highest rate of shopping scams reported.

Consequently, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), an affiliated agency of the DICT, initiated an online campaign to promote awareness and vigilance against scams during the holiday season, titled "12 Scams of Christmas."

Fortunately, due to the awareness successfully disseminated by the CICC and DICT, the reported scam rates during the holiday season decreased.

"Based on the reports from our hotline 1326, it seems that the incidents have decreased," Paraiso said.

"Perhaps we have raised awareness among our fellow citizens regarding the online scams that are being perpetrated against them, especially this Christmas season," he added.

DICT to adopt international AI policy

Entering the digital age, the usage of artificial technology (AI) played both positive and negative roles in the fourth industrial revolution.

"Let's remember that technology can be used for good, but when used for malicious purposes, it can truly be damaging," Paraiso said.

Due to these effects, Paraiso emphasized that international ICT communities and unions have already set standards for the ethical use of AI, which the DICT is planning to adopt in the country to balance out the capabilities of AI technology.

He pointed out that the Philippines is already a member of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) board led by the DICT.

"In these unions, discussions revolve around the use and progress of AI, focusing on how to use it properly and combat its wrongful usage," Paraiso said.

E-Gov Super App

Also, in 2023, the launch of the historical e-Gov Super App platform, a DICT initiative aimed at integrating all government agencies' systems to streamline their services for the benefit of Filipinos, took place.

The DICT signed various Memorandum of Agreements (MOUs) with different government agencies and local government units (LGUs) in 2023.

In addition, Digital Identification is now accessible to users once they've registered their names on the e-Gov Super App platform.

"Next year and in the following years, we intend to integrate several government platforms within our E-gov app," Paraiso said.

"Our goal is to make our e-gov app a one-stop-shop, where our fellow citizens only need to register once and can then avail themselves of the various online frontline services offered by different government agencies," he added.

Furthermore, the assistant secretary also emphasized, "right now, I think GSIS [Government Service Insurance System] is already on board, and hopefully, in the coming years, the integration will extend to BIR [Bureau of Internal Revenue], GSIS, SSS [Social Security System], and even Land Bank."