GREATER GOVT-PRIVATE SECTOR FOCUS ON CYBERSECURITY PRESSED

The recently held Cybersecurity Forum at the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP) has prompted calls for greater cooperation between the government and the private sector in formulating an enhanced and coordinated cybersecurity program in the country.

The various stakeholders that attended the said forum, which include representatives from government agencies, the banking sector, remittance centers, and other financial institutions, have also asked the Vice President Jejomar C. Binay to lead the coordination of multi-sectoral cybersecurity efforts.

Binay assured the concerned sectors that the Aquino administration will give cybersecurity the needed attention.

He reiterated his statement during the forum on the urgent need to intensify efforts at cyber crime prevention, detection and prosecution, and added that the best way to deal with the issue is through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) approach.

According to Binay, a partnership with the private sector will be instrumental in upgrading the state of the art in information and communications technology and cybersecurity.

“Working together, the public and private sectors have an easier way of advancing the state of the art in information technology and cybersecurity through innovations in mathematics, statistics and computer science, the development of measurements and standards for emerging information technologies, and the deployment of I.T. systems that are reliable, interoperable and secure,” he said.

So far, two forums have been held tackling the issue of cybersecurity in the country. The first forum on cybersecurity awareness was held in October last year. The recent forum was entitled “How Safe Is Your Money: Re-thinking Cybersecurity”.

The forum series was jointly sponsored by the NDCP, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the NDCP Alumni Association Inc (NDCPAAI).

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