PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. yesterday ordered the strengthening of cybersecurity systems of the Philippine National Police (PNP) through further training of its personnel and investment in technologies to address increasing cybercrime cases and emerging issues on cybersecurity.
Presidential briefer Daphne Paez said the President also emphasized the need to centralize and standardize the PNP’s communications systems and platforms.
The order follows reports over the weekend that hackers operating in China had attempted to break into websites and e-mail systems of government agencies but failed.
Manila did not say the hackers were linked to any state, but said they were found to be using the services of Chinese state-owned company Unicom. Unicom did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology yesterday said
investigation is ongoing and it has not communicated formally with China.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila on Monday night said it does not tolerate any form of cyberattack and will not allow any country or individual to engage in such illegal activities using Chinese infrastructure.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology yesterday said
investigation is ongoing and it has not communicated formally with China.
Also on Monday night, Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros pushed for an inquiry by the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security into the foiled cyberattacks.
In Proposed Senate Resolution No. 923, Hontiveros called for an investigation “into a foreign government-sponsored cyber intrusion affecting government agencies, including those directly involved in safeguarding national interest in the West Philippine Sea.”
Among subjects of the foiled hacking in January were the mailboxes of the DICT, the website of National Coast Watch, and the personal website of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., according to the DICT.
The Philippine Coast Guard, which is involved in maritime operations in the contested West Philippine Sea, on Monday said its website is secure.
CRIME STATS
Paez said the President’s directive was made after PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. reported during a sectoral meeting in Malacañang that while there has been an improvement in the country’s crime statistics, there is a need to focus more on addressing cybercrimes.
Acorda has reported that the number of crimes reported between July 1, 2022 and Jan. 31, 2024 dropped by 10.66 percent to 324,368 cases, from 363,075 cases from Dec. 1, 2020 to June 30, 2022.
He also said the country has an 82.48 percent crime solution efficiency rate as of January, from 82.34 percent in 2023, and the crime clearance efficiency to 98.65 percent from 98.30 percent.
He said there was a recorded decrease in seven out of the eight focus crimes namely: rape (11.08 percent), physical injury (10.59 percent), robbery (2.26 percent), murder (10.17 percent), carnapping (23.27 percent), and homicide (0.91 percent). Only theft recorded an increase at 4.79 percent.
Acorda said in compliance with the President’s directives, the PNP will train more policemen, up to the municipalities and police station levels, on addressing cybercrimes and on cybersecurity issues.
He said that as of 2023, the PNP has trained 487 police officers on cybersecurity, while cybercrime groups have been formed only up to regional police level.
NATIONAL STRATEGY
Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said his department is putting up a national cybercrime institute to train the police force.
Acorda said the PNP is also collaborating with key government agencies such as local government units, the DICT, the Department of Transportation, Philippine Ports Authority, telcos, service providers and others to implement a comprehensive national security strategy.
He said the PNP is also implementing the Capability Enhancement Program for 2024 and 2025, which modernizes the police force and focuses on upgrades in mobility, firepower, communication equipment and internal security operations equipment.
Acorda, meanwhile, said most of the cybercrimes that were reported to the PNP were committed locally.
He said swindling or estafa is the leading cybercrime reported, followed by illegal online access, identity theft, online libel, and credit card fraud.
He said the public should also be made aware of the cybercrimes. He said the registration of SIM cards have been helpful in identifying the online scammers, but there is still a need to make the people aware of the illegal activities, like the “love scams” that targets vulnerable individuals like grieving or lonely persons and those going through emotional transitions.
Telecommunications companies PLDT Inc and Globe Telecom Inc. have ramped up efforts to address spam and scam messages and cyberattacks.
PLDT and Smart’s Cyber Security Operations Group have met with technology providers to lay down improved processes and focus points to beef up the PLDT Group’s cybersecurity defenses and protect customers from cyber threats and attacks.
In 2023, the PLDT Group’s cybersecurity infrastructure fended off over 16 billion attacks and attempts to breach its cybersecurity network.
Globe Telecom warned the public against scams anew as fraudsters shift to new methods amid SIM registration law, telco blocking
Anton Bonifacio, Globe’s chief information Security Officer, said scammers are increasingly shifting to over-the-top (OTT) media services such as chat apps and spoofing, or the use of illegal devices to trick customer phones, all of which operate outside the scope of telcos.
“As much as we improve our filtering systems and enhance the implementation of the SIM Registration Act, fraudsters continue to find new ways to make victims out of mobile and internet users. We would like to reiterate our appeal to the public: please, please never engage with unsolicited calls, texts or chat messages and never give your personal details to strangers,” said Bonifacio. — With Raymond Africa, Myla Iglesias and Reuters
