DICT urges stronger authentication to combat cyber threats

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) emphasized the urgent need for stronger authentication measures to address hacking incidents.

In a radio interview on Monday, 3 March, DICT Undersecretary for Infostructure Management, Cybersecurity, and Upskilling Jeffrey Ian Dy echoed the statement made by Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro about enhancing digital security.

Dy pointed out that the lax registration processes under the SIM Registration Act (RA 11934) have left online systems vulnerable to exploitation by cybercriminals.

“The problem is napakadaling mag-register. I-accept ka basta registered. ‘Di nga [nito] na-ve-verify kung original ba ‘yung ID. Nag-aallow rin ng proxy registration (The problem is that it's very easy to register. They'll accept you as long as you're registered. It doesn't even verify if the ID is original. It also allows proxy registration),” Dy explained.

He stressed that the issue lies not with the SIM Registration Law itself but with its enforcement failures.

“It was not the failure of the law, it was the failure of the implementation.”

IMSI catchers: The threat of fake cell towers

Dy also highlighted the dangers posed by IMSI catchers — malicious devices that act as fake cell towers, allowing attackers to intercept sensitive data, calls, and texts.

“Let me be clear, in our current technical evaluation, it can only do so sa 2G networks and belowDy said.

To combat this, Dy emphasized the need to phase out outdated 2G networks. “Kailangan na nating i-retire ang 2G (We need to retire 2G now),” he said.

However, Dy acknowledged the challenges posed by the country’s lack of telecommunications infrastructure, noting that the Philippines would need an additional 60,000 signal towers to match Vietnam’s tower density. This infrastructure gap explains why telcos still rely on 2G for broader coverage.

Cyber attacks on government websites

Dy also revealed the staggering scale of cyberattacks targeting government websites, with approximately one million hacking attempts per day.

“Approximately, a million (hacking) attempts per day on government websites.”

Despite the alarming figures, Dy reassured the public that the majority of these attacks are unsuccessful. He added that many of the attacks come from a single source.

Although some breaches have occurred, Dy emphasized that successful infiltrations remain minimal.

Out of 5.4 million malicious attempts recorded, only 2,500 managed to breach security defenses — less than 1 percent.