Fiber internet company Converge ICT Solutions Inc. invested over P100 million to strengthen its network security systems to fight online child pornography and abuse.
“We are committed to ensure that our network is ironclad against illicit content, especially those harmful to children,” Converge chief technology officer Ronald Brusola said in a statement.
“Schemes to spread this criminal content evolve with technology and that’s why we continually upgrade our tools to combat them,” he added.
To date, over 20,000 websites featuring child sexual abuse imagery have been blocked on the Converge network, the company said. Traffic to these illicit sites has been averaging 1,200 hits per minute, according to internal data.
Converge said the spending included the upgrade of cyberdefense tools from a DNS filtering solution to an HTTPS URL/ Domain filtering system.
The latter is more effective because users who try to access blocked sites are automatically redirected to a corresponding warning page.
Last July, Converge also partnered with UK-based child abuse watchdog Internet Watch Foundation to step up the fight against the spread of images and videos of child sex abuse.
“As the pandemic draws more people to rely heavily on the internet for daily activities, Converge recognizes its role in ensuring that the internet remains a safe space for everyone,” the company said.
Converge has also strengthened ties with the National Telecommunications Commission, the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the Department of Social Welfare and Development to protect children online.
To report any case of online sexual exploitation of children, call 1343 for Metro Manila and 02-1343 for outside Metro Manila.
Cases can also be reported at www.1343actionline.ph while child pornography can be reported by sending “DSWD (space) blockchildporn (space) URL address” to 2327 or “blockchildporn (space) URL address” to 0918-9122813.
“Converge began this cybersecurity program four years ago, and since then, we’ve only increased our coverage to monitor illegal activity on our network,” Brusola said.
“Apart from imagery of child sexual abuse, we are on the lookout for scams involving financial institutions and online gambling. We are steadfast in making sure our network is being used for the good of everyone,” he added.