The Japanese government conducted a three-day cybersecurity risk management training for government workers to enhance the country’s ability to address data breaches.
The training is part of the two-year work plan of the ongoing project for the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to develop capacity for cybersecurity supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
“With a vast number of potential cyber-attacks happening daily, data breach is a serious concern that we need to address immediately. Cybersecurity is a rapidly growing concern for the Philippines and the entire world in line with the promotion of digital transformation,” JICA Chief Representative Sakamoto Takema said.
“We can share our knowledge, experiences and lessons learned with the spirit of Bayanihan. I am honored and delighted that we, JICA-DICT-USAID, are now materializing our first joint collaboration after the trilateral summit meeting in April very swiftly,” Sakamoto added.
JICA said it would remain committed to cooperating with the country in the area of cybersecurity, which was also underscored during the Japan- Philippines-US Trilateral Summit Meeting held in Washington, D.C., in April 2024,
The training is the first undertaking after the said Trilateral Summit and is implemented as a joint initiative with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Better Access and Connectivity (BEACON) Project.
JICA invited USAID’s lecturer, who imparted basic knowledge on cybersecurity risk management, emerging threats, and the latest measures.
About a hundred participants from DICT and related government agencies, such as the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Energy, Philippine Coast Guard, Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center, and the Supreme Court, among others, attended the training.
“JICA recognizes the pressing need to strengthen the country’s cybersecurity posture. In order to attain cyber resiliency of the government’s CII, we shall continue our support to the Philippine government to enhance its capacity particularly on sectoral coordination, and enhancing the country’s awareness on cybersecurity,” Sakamoto stated.
The Philippines ranked 61st out of 194 countries worldwide in the 2020 Global
Cybersecurity index (GCI), placing below most ASEAN states.
Meanwhile, IBM found in its research that the country had the highest number of users attacked by banking Trojans in the Asia-Pacific and is the 4th most targeted country by cybercriminals in 2021.