ILIGAN CITY (PIA)–As the greater population shifts from face-to-face to online transactions and activities, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) intensifies its campaign posting precautions against issues and concerns usually encountered in cyberspace through installing awareness on cybersecurity.
In the second session of the Philippine National Public Key Infrastructure (PNPKI) initiated by DICT Mindanao 2 Cluster Friday, November 5, DICT’s Engr. Jodelum Tuscano admitted that cases wherein websites, especially of government’s, were indeed breached and intruded on by malicious hackers.
“Mayroon tayong nakikitang incident na iyong mga government website ay nahahack or nadedeface. Mawawala iyong screen ng mismong government agency and once you open the site, usually black ang background, and nakalagay doon ang gusto nilang iparating sa government,” she said as she showed several news stories detailing such occurrence.
[We have seen incidents where government websites are being hacked and defaced. The screen itself of the government agency disappears and once you open the site, the background is usually black and the message they want to send to the government is posted there.]
Tuscano stated that these instances of hacking or defacing are just some of the many issues transpiring when going into cyberspace.
She cited more circumstances such as stealing of millions online by criminals, government surveillance, and pursuing political goals by hacktivists while common threats are likewise present including phishing which is the fraudulent practice of sending emails to get personal or financial information, identity theft which is the deliberate use of someone else’s identity to gain financial advantage, hacking which is the unauthorized intrusion into a computer or network, and internet fraud which is the fraudulent online business scheme.
Tuscano added that there are also times when people can provide sensitive information from their end without them being aware of such, which she said can be avoided through appropriate education on cybersecurity.
“In that case, kailangan maging [it is a need to be] cyber literate in terms of the protection of our personal information, and also protection of the infos of our friends and our offices that we belong to,” she urged.
The DICT also emphasized that to protect oneself in cyberspace, attachments from unknown sources must not be opened, dubious or unverified links must not be clicked, passwords must be changed regularly, and interaction with other people online must be done carefully.
Further, security devices must as much as possible be installed, installment of third party applications from the internet must be avoided, be careful on plugging anything on own device, and only add recognized people.
Additional precautions are also posted, including one must not be showy on social media, avoid using third-party applications on social media, turn off location settings on the phone unless necessary, and report and ask help from authorities.
Tuscano underscored that any victim of cyberspace crimes or those with pertinent complaints may connect with the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Department of Justice Office of Cybercrime (DOJ-OOC), and DICT Cybercrime Investigation Coordination Center (CICC). (CRG/PIA-Lanao del Norte)
