Hackers getting more sophisticated — Decode ‘22

Hackers and scammers are now utilizing more sophisticated methods to access private information and data, Trend Micro's threat research team senior manager Ryan Flores has warned.

Flores issued the alert during the two-day Decode 2022: Detect and Respond, Trend Micro's annual cybersecurity conference that drew 2,200 participants, the largest since its launch in 2017.

With the relentless tech attacks, Flores emphasized cybersecurity awareness should be at the top of the priorities of companies, thus "it is with efforts such as Decode that we are able to introduce and reinforce the significance of security in this digital age."

Among the topics discussed were the key processes in rooting out and eliminating attacks, including those on mobile payment platforms and even popular games that feature in-game microtransactions like Genshin.

Decode 2022 was spearheaded by, among others, Trend Micro's director of global operations Jay Yaneza, Aboitiz Group's Charmaine Valmonte, Interpol's Cybercrime Threat Response Sub-Directorate Shane Cross and Lauren Seawright, the FBI Intelligence Assistant Legal Attaché in the US Embassy-Manila.

Participants were given insights on things to be anticipated in the cybersecurity landscape by 2023 over discussions in over 40 sessions.

The discussions ranged from similarities between cyber-criminal enterprises and regular businesses from the ground up to the highest position and shared clustering complex data analysis techniques.

Trend Micro talked about strategies it employed in dealing with online scams, malware, new phishing devices and techniques, and the possible risks and dangers behind captchas.