DICT to battle for private funds

Let me tell you about something that gave me a real shock recently. Do you recall October 11, 2023? Yeah, I know–there were so many headlines that day. But, there was one particular development that made me sit up and take notice. It was when I heard that the House of Reps declined to allocate confidential funds to the Department of Information and Communications Technology for 2024.

Let me break it down for you. So the person in charge at the DICT, Ivan John Uy, was interviewed on TV. He expressed how vital these confidential funds are to safeguard the digital borders of our country. Can you imagine? He made a fantastic point, stating that while other countries are investing more and more to keep their cyberspace secure, we’re paddling the opposite way. Like we’re practically shouting out to the world that we’re a laid-back target with no interest in shielding our digital assets. Astonishing, right?

Speaking of digital threats, have you heard about PhilHealth getting attacked recently? It was hacked, and they had to shut down their system for several days! The hackers demanded a hefty sum – three hundred grand – to erase the data they’d stolen, and to return the key to unscramble the encrypted info. Isn’t that terrifying? Plus, some members’ personal details were already compromised, and were visible on the dark web.

Let’s not forget the mayhem caused when the Ninoy Aquino International Airport had to shut down for a day– that could happen again because of cyber attacks. Wondering about what will happen if our entire financial and banking system goes offline for just one day? Imagine the economic impact of that? What if the shutdown lasts a week or even a month and it’s not possible to restore it? Think about our energy grids, telecommunications, transportation; the chaos will be immeasurable.

By the way, five civilian government agencies had their confidential funds axed as the House decreed it’d rather divert funds elsewhere – particularly toward intelligence gathering and surveillance, in the wake of a few eyebrow-raising incidents in the disputed waters in the West Philippine Sea. You know how much the DICT was asking? A cool P300 million for 2024.

Yeah, the plot thickens. Turns out that if those confidential funds for the DICT are reallocated, the move may inadvertently expose the nitty-gritty of the department’s efforts to secure our digital borders. Yikes.

But here’s a tad bit of good news. Senate Majority Leaders Joel Villanueva and JV Ejercito both backed the DICT’s plea for confidential funds. Villanueva is all set to champion for the department’s confidential funds, as he believes we need to strengthen our cybersecurity measures.

Ejercito also chimed in, pointing out that just as traditional crimes affect thousands of Filipinos each day, cybercrimes are no different. Quite aptly put, cybercrime is today’s public enemy number one. So, as a Bay Arean with an active interest in healthcare and cybersecurity, don’t you think it’s time we took serious note of these looming cyber threats? After all, we wouldn’t want to chance it with our security, would we?

by Morgan Phisher