MANILA -- The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is investing in technology to fortify the government’s critical infrastructure amid current and emerging cybersecurity threats, a communications technology official said on Saturday.
“Kami naman sa DICT, we are investing iyong binigay sa aming budget ng Kongreso – we’re investing on technological… that’s the reason why we were able to defend it and we were able to detect it (cyber threat). Of course, so we’re investing in technology,” Information and Communications Technology Undersecretary Jeff Ian Dy said in a news forum in Quezon City.
“But we’re investing in technological improvements to defend the government infrastructure. Hindi po namin kayang depensahan lahat but we would focus on the critical infrastructure kasi the resources have to be focused.”
Dy identified two fronts in countering threats posed by hackers and malign use of artificial intelligence—measures within government and the private sector.
Within the government, Dy said there are laws that could be prioritized in Congress to counter those threats. These include the Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Bill, Cybersecurity Bill, and a bill on foreign interference, which also includes countering cognitive warfare or the propaganda being spewed foreign sources.
DICT’s budget in cybersecurity, as promised by legislators, was increased by a P150 million, which would greatly help in fighting cybersecurity threats, the official said.
In the private sector, Dy said the DICT is discussing with the media in coming up with a certain campaign along with the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) regarding verified or trusted websites to inform and warn the public on misleading or deceptive information on the cyberspace.
“Parang ano lang halimbawa kulay green na may checkmark, na badge ‘no para alam naman ng taumbayan na ‘Ah ito talaga ang source of information, hindi iyong isa kong website na nakita. Hindi rin iyong nakita ko sa TikTok o kaya nakita ko sa Facebook,’” Dy explained.
“So, mayroon tayong mga ganyang moves, in fact marami na rin po tayong mga na-takedown na AI-generated videos at salamat po sa media dahil promptly nagre-report sila. I think, sir, on top of my head iyan iyong dalawang puwede nating gawin sa ngayon para labanan ito.”
Among the threats identified by the DICT include those posed by hackers, artificial intelligence-generated (AI) robocalls, and the necessity to secure submarine cables, which are very important in the operations of the country’s business process outsourcing (BPO) sector. (PND)
