Perhaps noting that most government agencies have antiquated technology tools, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has called on government instrumentalities to review and assess their current ICT equipment and software.
The DICT made the call after observing that most government agencies, which include state universities and colleges (SUCs) and government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), are having difficult time responding to the needs of the public in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
One of the beleaguered institutions is state pension firm SSS, whose obsolete online infrastructure has bogged down due to the sheer amount of requests from members wanting to get financial assistance from the government.
The DICT said updating ICT equipment and software is a step towards optimizing the use of available bandwidth, and minimizing risks associated with the use of old or outdated ICT hardware and software.
It is important, the agency stressed, to periodically check for updates in order to create a safe cyberspace and to ensure that worries due to system bugs, lags, and errors are lessened during this time where government’s productivity relies heavily on ICT.
“The Covid-19 crisis in the country puts many of our fellow Filipinos and many of our institutions exposed to high security risks due to higher dependency on ICT resources. We encourage everyone, as a matter of good practice, to periodically check for updates, especially those that are needed to address possible security vulnerabilities on outdated software or even equipment,” DICT secretary Gregorio B. Honasan II explained.
