Phl, Canada deepen cyber defense

The Philippines and Canada reaffirmed their commitment to deepening cyber defense cooperation, according to the Department of National Defense on Friday. 

DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said the development followed a bilateral meeting held on July 22 in Singapore between Atty. Odessa Rossilyz Magisa, Officer-in-Charge of the DND's Office for Information Security, and Mr. Hani Nasser, Director of Domains and Technology Policy at Canada's Department of National Defense. 

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 2025 Digital Defense Symposium.

“Both sides explored practical areas for collaboration, including capacity-building and information sharing programs,” Andolong said in a statement.

The bilateral engagement forms part of a growing defense partnership between the two nations, anchored on the Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation signed in January 2024. The relationship was further reinforced by the conclusion of negotiations for the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) in March this year.

Earlier this month, Manila also hosted a high-level bilateral Cyber Working Group meeting with Ottawa, continuing efforts to enhance cooperation in cybersecurity.

The Digital Defense Symposium 2025 serves as one of the key collaboration platforms under the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) Cybersecurity and Information Centre of Excellence (ACICE).