Consumer advocacy group CitizenWatch Philippines on Monday urged the government to form an alliance with the private sector to be able to establish a strong cybersecurity posture to protect the country’s critical infrastructure sector from cyberattacks.
“Cyberattacks can cause disruptions that significantly impact public safety, security, economic stability, or public health,” he pointed out. The former lawmaker added that firms also have to bear the economic costs of repairing their infrastructure damaged by cyberattacks. Belmonte stressed that practicing cyber hygiene would be a good step in the fight against hacking. “Sometimes it could be as simple as good housekeeping, ensuring our antivirus tools are updated and paid for. It could also be the constant education of our users to prevent them from falling prey to social engineering schemes,” he said.
“As the country evolves into a digital nation, hackers are also becoming more sophisticated in their efforts to put one over Internet users, gain access to their private information, profit from them, or even endanger them.”