Rising cyber attacks indicate ‘war’— PLDT
‘We are in the middle of a cyber war. We need to secure our country’s vital infrastructures like energy, telecoms and financial services’
Daily Tribune‘We are in the middle of a cyber war. We need to secure our country’s vital infrastructures like energy, telecoms and financial services’
The PLDT Group is appealing for stricter enforcement of the national cybersecurity plan to protect critical assets from rising threats after cyberattacks against PLDT and Smart surged by a whopping 9,000 percent to 16 billion in 2023 from 182 million in 2022.
“We are in the middle of a cyber war. We need to secure our country’s vital infrastructures like energy, telecoms, and financial services. If we talk about cyber resiliency, stakeholders — both private entities and government units — must collaborate.
“We need the government to orchestrate our efforts,” Angel Redoble, chief information security officer of PLDT, Smart and ePLDT, said over the weekend.
Throughout 2023, the PLDT Group successfully thwarted a staggering number of cyberattacks, exceeding a billion hits in all but three months.
Holiday onslaught
Notably, November and December witnessed the most significant onslaught, with each month recording over three billion attacks.
“Cyber-attacks surge during holidays because that’s when people are distracted by the festivities. But for us, that’s when we are at the highest alert level. We’re not only protecting the company, but the entire Filipino people who rely on our services, especially in an increasingly digital landscape,” Redoble said.
Last year, significant cybersecurity incidents extended beyond private companies and affected several government websites. One notable attack, potentially state-sponsored, appeared to be driven by geopolitical tensions.
