Govt help needed to fight cyber war

PLDT Inc. and its wireless unit Smart Communications Inc. yesterday urged the government to oversee the country’s cybersecurity master plan against rising threats and attacks to secure critical assets.

This after PLDT saw cyberattacks spike nearly 9,000 percent to 16 billion in 2023 from 182 million in 2022.

On a monthly basis, the PLDT Group was blocking more than a billion hits in all but three months of 2023. November and December registered the highest attacks with more than three billion assaults each, PLDT said.

“Cyber-attacks surge during holidays because that’s when people are distracted by the festivities. But for us, that’s when we are at the highest alert level. We’re not only protecting the company, but the entire Filipino people who rely on our services, especially in an increasingly digital landscape,” said Angel Redoble, PLDT, Smart and ePLDT chief information security officer.

Cyberattacks are not limited to private companies. A few government websites also experienced major cybersecurity incidents in 2023. One attack is believed to have been state-sponsored and might have been motivated by geopolitical tensions.

Redoble said the government needs to take the reins in steering the country’s cybersecurity strategy as cyberattacks have become matters of national security.

“We are in the middle of a cyber war. We need to secure our country’s vital infrastructures like energy, telecoms, and financial services. If we talk about cyber resiliency, stakeholders – both private entities and government units – must collaborate. And we need the government to orchestrate our efforts,” said Redoble.

The PLDT Group said it continues to engage external partners to further boost its cybersecurity capabilities.

Recently, the PLDT Group’s Cyber Security Incident Response Team has joined the global Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams, giving the telco group access to data and tools that will further beef up its playbook against cyber threats and attacks.

PLDT and Smart said their efforts to fortify their digital assets are rooted in their customer-centric culture where they aim to elevate the quality of customer experience…