The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) signed a two-year agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to improve cybersecurity in the Philippines.
The DICT said the technical cooperation is timely, imperative and aligned with National Cybersecurity Plan (NCSP) 2024-28 approved by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Feb. 6 which sets the direction of the Philippine government in responding to cyber threats and network intrusions.
It is crucial in the age of digitization as it will help enhance security of the Philippines’ critical information structures, the agency said.
Based on statistics, the Philippines is the fourth most-attacked country in the world, with over 50 million web threat attempts in 2021.
The Philippines also ranked 61st of 194 countries worldwide (13th of 38 countries in Asia Pacific) in the 2020 Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI), placing below major ASEAN countries.
The DICT underscored the need to beef up the country’s cybersecurity position to enhance the protection of government agencies, critical information infrastructures, businesses and supply chains and every Filipino in cyberspace.
“Currently, digitization, digitalization and digital transformation are the solid priority policies for a prosperous future, and at the same time, cybersecurity is becoming a major concern which requires immediate response. We aim to assist the Philippines in achieving trusted, secure and reliable cyberspace for every Filipino in the digital age. Through this cooperation, Japanese experts will help develop modules and support activities that will complement the NCS,” said JICA chef representative Sakamoto Takema.
“This is also an opportunity to help build convergence of different stakeholders in the Philippines and come up with measures to make digital systems trusted, secure and reliable,” Takema said.
As part of the JICA-DICT cooperation, training modules will be developed and implemented to boost technical capability of cybersecurity personnel.