By Rizal Raoul Reyes
Although the Philippines is still considered an emerging economny, a security solutions company has warned the country remains an attractive target for online criminals.
Renato Garcia, country manager of Exclusive Networks Philippines, said businesses should be wary of threats such as Wannacry, which hit local companies in 2017.
?One of the major local banks also experienced a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack last year that raised concern in the financial sector,? Garcia said.
As a result, Garcia said a lot of business organizations are now searching for chief information security officers (CISOs) to protect their networks.
WannaCry is a ransomware worm that caused panic in the global financial system, when it spread swiftly through across a number of computer networks in May of 2017.
After infecting a Windows computers, the worm encrypts files on the PC’s hard drive, depriving users to access, then demands a ransom payment in bitcoin in order to decrypt them.
The event also announced the partnership of Exclusive Networks, the value-added security and technology (VAST) company, with Imperva and LogRhythm that have been forged in response to the growing cybersecurity maturity of Asian markets.
?The Philippines is also a magnet for cybercrimes. It is not just a perception but a reality. Cybercriminals don?t really recognize nationalities,? Andrew Draper, area vice president for Asia of Imperva told the media in a press conference on March 1 in Makati City.
The company also recently acquired Transition Systems Asia, a value-added distributor, as part of its expansion into Asia, including the Philippines.
By expanding its operations in Asia, particularly the Philippines, Garcia said Exclusive Networks is using its unique capabilities to enhance the region?s cybersecurity posture and foster its own transformative strategy through traditional distribution channels.
On the partnership, Garcia said the partnership with Imperva and LogRhythm offers complementary strengths to mitigate and detect threats and also address the needs of their resellers.
?Our expansion into Asia and the Philippines, is part of our overall VAST strategy to be a global leader for various areas of information technology, including cybersecurity. We believe this presents an excellent opportunity for us to promote and establish our disruptive distribution strategy in new markets,? he said.
Garcia said the Philippines is taking proactive steps in security though the ?National Cybersecurity Plan 2022?. This five-year strategy from the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) seeks to raise the country?s cybersecurity awareness and capabilities to global standards.
In crafting the plan, DICT is recognizing the importance of protecting every single Internet user as well as the Philippines’ critical information infrastructure (CII), government networks, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and big businesses and corporations.
