More and more information and communications (ICT) professionals are now turning to the "dark side" or underground jobs that are into hacking and cybercrimes, as operators of these forbidden organizations are luring ICT professionals with hefty salaries.

In a press conference at the sidelines of the CXO Summit last week in Shangri-la, Boracay, Alan Reyes, the country manager of cybersecurity firm Fortinet, revealed that best-trained cyber warriors are now engaged or working with the "dark side."

“These cyber warriors go on training, and then it turned out that most people that we trained turned to the dark side; that’s what we are facing right now,” Reyes told reporters.

Unfortunately, Reyes said these competent cyber warriors, who are supposed to act against threat actors that are inflicting malware, phishing, and other forms of cyberattacks, are receiving more money compared to the salary they are getting from legal organizations.

“To be honest, there is more money on the dark side. What happened is they learn from us, and they are also AI-capable, so they have that training,” he said, adding that it is why cybersecurity training should be incorporated with the right ethical standards.

Asked how much money cybercriminals earn, he said, “Very much compared to other legal ICT experts.”

In an earlier interview, Palo Alto head of Technical Solutions, Jobert David, stressed that, sad to say, threat actors and cybercriminals are now more advanced, also equipped with the use of artificial intelligence.

“They also use AI. That’s why we keep educating and evangelizing people out there that AI should be utilized in the best way so that they are not harming organizations. We cannot use a knife in a gunfight. So organizations should onboard the best cybersecurity platform,” he said.

Based on the first half report of the Philippine National Police-Anti-Cybercrime Group, it logged 8,177 complaints from January to June 30, up from 12,808 in the same period last year.

They said the plummeting record of cybercrimes “reflects the effectiveness of cybersecurity measures implemented by businesses and government agencies.”

The ACG added that cybercrimes such as online scams showed a downtrend, attributed to its improved enforcement and awareness campaigns.

However, there was an increase in cyber-libel cases and photo and video voyeurism.