Over 200,000 cyberattacks on telecommunications infrastructures have been recorded in the Philippines daily, an official from the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said in a State-run presser.

In a press conference hosted by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), DICT Undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy said telecommunication companies (telcos) are one of the prime targets of the 2 million cyberattacks that are being recorded daily by the National Security Operations Center.

Dy added that the prime targets of the attacks are government sites, which several stakeholders worry would worsen if telco restrictions are relaxed once the Senate Bill (SB) 2699 or the Konektadong Pinoy Act is enacted into law.

"Fifty percent target government, 30 percent target academe... ten percent target the telecommunications industry, the remaining 10 percent is usually banking, health sectors," he said during the conference on Nov. 18.

In a presser organized by the PIA last month, Dy said many were not successful or were mere attempts, while others were minor cases. However, he said every government agency and the private sector must remain vigilant.

"At any given day, approximately 2.1 million threats are being monitored by the National Security Operations Center. Not all of these threats are successful in attacking government or critical information structures," Dy said.

Consumer advocacy network CitizenWatch Philippines said that, if passed, SB2699 will eliminate the need for a congressional franchise for telecommunication companies, which "diminishes" the regulatory powers of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) into mere oversight.

The group said this could be detrimental to consumers and the country's telco space as a whole.

Independent international think-tank and research organization Stratbase ADR Institute urged lawmakers to take a second look at how the country may be opening itself up to abuses from entities that have malicious intent.

According to cyber intelligence company CYFIRMA, the Philippines is a prime target for cyber espionage activities due to a lack of cybersecurity awareness and underdeveloped cybersecurity infrastructure, especially with the rising tension in the region.

Intelligent global network Cloudflare recorded an average of five billion cyberattacks per day in the Philippines in the first quarter of 2024, a 28-percent increase compared to the prior quarter.

Several key stakeholders from private and government institutions of the country's cyber security space are also ramping up efforts to enhance the country’s defenses under an alliance dubbed PROTECTA Pilipinas.

Meanwhile, Globe Telecom also invested around $90 million to tighten its cyber security measures amid the continuous rise of cyber attacks in the Philippines.

The Konektadong Pinoy Act is currently lodged at the Senate and awaits further deliberations and actions.

In April this year, President Marcos ordered the adoption and implementation of the National Cybersecurity Plan (NCSP) 2023-2028 to strengthen the security and resilience of Philippine cyberspace.

EO 58 mandates all national government agencies and instrumentalities to formulate, adopt, and implement their cybersecurity plans and strategies relevant to their respective mandates, under the NCSP 2023-2028.