A five-year national cybersecurity plan that lays out the government’s overall strategy in fighting in a new battleground where the Philippines could be at par with potential foreign adversaries is awaiting approval by President Marcos Jr.
The “National Cybersecurity Plan (2023-2028)” was recently presented to the Cabinet, Information and Communications Technology Secretary Ivan John Uy said during a recent forum on governance and security. The strategy will cover the protection of targets vulnerable to cyberattacks that could cripple the economy and national security even before the first enemy missile is fired at the country.
“It actually identifies the areas where the critical infrastructures that need to be secured and what particular aggrupation of agencies that will be addressing that on the civilian side and on the military side, and then how all of us will work together to coordinate all efforts in defending our country,” Uy said.
“As most of us have seen today, in warfare, the first attack is not done with a bullet or a missile,” he said. “When you launch a cyberattack and you shut down the entire financial system of a country, the damage of the impact is many, many times bigger.
US cybersecurity company, Insikt Group, reported in 2021 that the Armed Forces of the Philippines, particularly the Philippine Navy, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Presidential Management Staff, were allegedly being persistently targeted by Chinese state-sponsored hackers.
The military has been training with countries like the United States to protect its cyberdomain. Cyberdefense is now a new component in this years “Balikatan” – the largest of the military exercises between the two allies – to strengthen the country’s cybersecurity posture.
The war in Ukraine has exposed the importance of cybersecurity to any nation that is in risk of any attack from foreign aggression. In the case of the Philippines, that has been dealing with an aggressively expanding neighbor, preparing our defenses that will need to be ready in case a cyber war breaks out is always a good idea. Hopefully the national cybersecurity plan that has been put in place will be enough to outwit any offensive that may be launched against our country, just in case.*
