An infrastructure-oriented think tank called on the Department of Information and Communications Technology to consider cybersecurity as a main pillar in its proposed common tower policy.
“Consistent with cybersecurity, the DICT should prohibit tower companies [towercos] and end-users with ties or funding from foreign governments. Second, the towers should not be used as a platform for surveillance and intelligence activities.”
This was the statement of Terry Ridon, Infrawatch PH convenor and former member of the House ICT committee.
Ridon said that in view of the still unresolved issues in the West Philippine Sea, it should be government policy to disallow foreign state-owned or state-funded corporations to enter the country’s tower industry.
“If these types of companies are allowed access to the country’s tower industry, there is no limit on the types of activities it can undertake, and no limit on the end-users it can allow in its towers. This presents as a national security and cybersecurity threat to the nation, as these companies and its end-users can install intelligence and surveillance equipment on its towers to monitor activities and gather information and data from our citizens and institutions.”
Ridon, who studied cybersecurity at the Harvard Kennedy School, said that the advice of the country’s security sector should be considered in crafting its comprehensive common tower policy.
“There is a real danger in having a blind spot on issues involving security, given that tensions in WPS continue. It should be noted that the tower business is not merely confined to servicing existing telecom companies, but all other types of activities which require actual, physical towers. This, unfortunately, may include surveillance activities by foreign nations.”
General prohibition on installation of surveillance and intelligence equipment
Ridon also said that there should also be a general prohibition on the installation of surveillance and intelligence equipment in the proposed common tower policy.
“The common towers policy should be restricted to purely civilian activities, with the focus on reducing congestion in our existing telecom networks. Allowing other activities such as surveillance and intelligence gathering should be prohibited, as it may run contrary to the constitutional right to privacy and the guarantee against wiretaps.”
Ridon said text messaging and voice calls that are not subject to end-to-end encryption are vulnerable to surveillance activities in equipment installed in towers.
“These vulnerable texts and voice calls include the usual services offered by telecoms companies which do not require third-party applications like Viber, Telegram, among others.”