The United States government committed to assist the Department of National Defense (DND) in building up its cyber capabilities in the face of emerging cybersecurity challenges in the country, a ranking official said on Saturday, Oct. 19.
DND spokesperson Director Arsenio Andolong said Major General Lorna Mahlock, commander of US Cyber National Mission Force (CNMF), met with the DND leadership led by Defense Undersecretary for Strategic Assessment and Planning Ignacio B. Madriaga last Oct. 17 in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City to “discuss about the significant challenges that both countries face in cyberspace.”
Mahlock and Madriaga also talked about “[exploring] possible avenues to support the Philippine defense department’s cyber-capability building efforts.”
“MGen. Mahlock expressed the commitment of U.S. to bolstering its partnership with allied cyber forces, specifically through collaboration between USCYBERCOM/CNMF and the Armed Forces of the Philippines Cyber Command (AFPCYC),” Andolong said.
According to the DND, the CNMF is a dedicated cyber unit under the U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) which is responsible for planning, directing, and synchronizing cyberspace operations to protect against and counter threats to national security.
It said that the CNMF has played a critical role in defending the United States from cyber adversaries since its inception in 2014.
The AFP earlier said that it was dealing with around 1,000 hacking attempts per day although none of them has been successful so far.
Late last year, AFP Chief, General Romeo Brawner Jr. bared that it was creating a new military command composed of experts in the Information Technology (IT) amid the series of cyberattacks that hit government agencies.
The idea behind the AFP's Cyber Command is to consolidate all the cyber units of the three major services of the AFP - the Philippine Army, the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Air Force.
The creation of the Cyber Command will not only focus on protecting the country from cyberattacks but also boost the AFP’s capability in terms of cyber war.