Firms urged to toughen cybersecurity measures

The threat of cyberattacks is one of the biggest challenges facing the Philippine financial system nowadays with the growing number of aggressive and malicious hackers targeting those in banking, financial services and insurance (BFSIs), according to industry experts.

And with rising concerns about security breaches in the biggest banking institutions locally, banks have been advised to allocate resources to boost its cybersecurity infrastructure and ensure the security of its clients transactions.

“Cyberattacks are getting more and more sophisticated every day. The usual practice is to provide and implement reactive actions by depending on the technologies,” ePLDT chief information security officer Angel Redoble said in a statement. “However, we would like to emphasize that it is always better to be proactive in anything that involves high stakes security.”

As one of the fastest growing economies in the Asia-Pacific region, the Philippines is considered to be a cybercrime hotspot. As such, local banks are being encouraged to improve their information technology infrastructure and manpower expertise to ensure security and confidentiality for their clients and stakeholders.

For this purpose, ePLDT—a subsidiary of the country’s largest telecommunications firm—recently introduced a more expansive portfolio specifically built to address risks and issues in banking security.

“Threats of cyberattacks have been evolving and becoming more advanced at an alarmingly rapid rate. In this day and age, it is critical for us to get our clients ready and accept that no company nor individual is 100-percent safe from any breach,” ePLDT chief operating officer Nerisse Ramos said. “This means that as business leaders, preparedness means being ready before, during and after an attack.”

The company said financial institutions in the Philippines should employ a comprehensive suite of cyber security solutions that would allow them to predict, prevent, detect and respond to attacks before, during and after they happen.

“ePLDT’s business framework is built from a truly holistic and secure ecosystem,” Ramos said. “We cover all grounds from cyber security consultation to incident response. Our business framework addresses the most fundamental and critical need of ensuring protection from attacks online—education and empowerment of a technologically competent workforce.” —DAXIM L. LUCAS