At the recently held Cybersecurity Virtual Event organized by Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) last October 12, industry experts shared how a whole of nation approach is needed to make Filipinos “cyber resilient”, to curb rising cases of cyber attacks.
Former Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity and Enabling Technologies at the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Allan Cabanlong said in terms of enhancing cyber security, it should be a “whole of nation, whole of government, whole of society approach.”
Art Samaniego, technology editor and Information and Communications Technology head at Manila Bulletin Publishing Corp., agreed saying that the “best solution we have is the whole of community approach to avoid scams and internet frauds.”
“While it is the responsibility of the users to look out for themselves, the public and private sectors need to equip us so we know how to use the latest technology. It should be the responsibility of users to cooperate with the private sector and for the government to prosecute cyber criminals. The government and the private sector should work together,” Samaniego further said.
The former DICT official said awareness is important to help Filipinos become cyber resilient.
People fall victim to cybercrimes because of the lack of awareness. It is the responsibility of banks and the government to inform and educate. On the other hand, it is the end users’ responsibility to keep updated on how to protect their accounts.
“Be always suspicious. We need to have constant awareness and constant discussion,” Cabanlong added.
He advised the public to strengthen their system by such processes as getting firewalls, installing antivirus software, making sure that one is not using the same password in different portals, and always ignoring emails from questionable senders.
In order to help curb cyber threats, RCBC supported the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ call to enable banking clients to distinguish a fake from a legitimate communication by removing all clickable links in all its client communications, including emails, SMS, and Viber.
To continue to remain vigilant and protect their online banking accounts, clients are likewise advised to take advantage of the security features available to them when using RCBC Digital, including the biometrics login, one-time password (OTP) issuance, and the card lock/unlock feature.
RCBC Chief Information Security Officer Carlos Tengkiat underscored that cybersecurity is a shared responsibility between banks and their clients, and on top of the banks ensuring they have updated cybersecurity tools and capabilities, the best way to protect their customers is to teach them how to protect themselves.
“RCBC is committed to make sure that our clients are well aware of cybercrime threats such as phishing, vishing, and email compromise, and that they are equipped with proper knowledge to protect themselves from these attacks,” Tengkiat said.
“At the same time, the bank will continue to be the best partner for our clients in terms of accelerating digitalization and making our online banking services safe and convenient for them,” he added.
