President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. has issued a directive to the Philippine National Police (PNP) to address the increasing number of cybercrime cases in the country.
During a meeting in Malacañang, President Marcos emphasized the need to strengthen and improve the PNP’s cybersecurity systems. He also instructed the PNP to centralize and standardize all communications systems and platforms.
According to the PNP, the most prevalent forms of cybercrimes in the Philippines from July 2022 to January 2024 include swindling or estafa, illegal access, computer-related identity theft, online libel, ATM/credit card fraud, threat, data interferences, photo and video voyeurism, unjust vexation, and computer-related fraud.
To address the rising cybercrime cases, the PNP aims to intensify its training programs to capacitate officers to handle online crimes.
Additionally, the Philippine Public Safety College is set to launch the National Cybercrime Training Institute to support the training of police personnel in combating cybercrimes.
The House Committees on Information and Technology (ICT) and Public Information have recently discussed the cybersecurity breaches on government websites. These discussions aim to address the vulnerabilities and improve the security measures to prevent future breaches
Sources: PhilNews24 | February 7, 2024
