Nanawagan si Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte sa pamahalaan na paigtingin ang ugnayan sa pagitan ng public telecommunication entities (PTEs) at private cybersecurity experts upang mapalakas ang proteksyon sa may 105 million SIM database laban sa mga hacker.
Ayon kay Villafuerte na isa sa may akda ng SIM Registration Law, dapat mapaglaanan ng dagdag na pondo ang Department of Information and Communications Technology o DICT para sa dagdag na tech expert, makabagong anti-virus software at sabayan ng information campaign sa publiko para makaiwas sa digital fraud.
“Apart from fostering a closer partnership with PTEs and other private groups with expertise on cybersecurity, the DICT (Department of Information and Communications Technology) and NTC (National Telecommunications Commission) could build a far stronger cyberspace posture by investing big in cutting edge anti-virus software and hiring a lot more tech experts to best protect our database of 105 million plus SIM registrants that is growing by the day, against security breaches similar to those that have hit various institutions in succession over the past half-year,” ani Villafuerte.
Ang panawagan ng mambabatas ay kasunod na rin ng serye ng online data breach ng Philhealth, Department of Science and Technology, Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation Bureau of Internal Revenue, Philippine Statistics Authority at pinakahuli ay ang website ng House of Representatives.
“This flurry of security breaches since summer up to last weekend’s unauthorized access to the House website should serve as a wake up call that many things needs to be done at once by the DICT, NTC and even the NPC (National Privacy Commission), in coordination with the private sector, including our PTEs, of course, on the matter of ensuring a foolproof security system for our SIM database,” dagdag ng kongresista.
Punto pa ni Villafuerte na kung hindi masisiguro ang data protection ay mawawalan ng tiwala ang publiko sa online security system ng pamahalaan na maaaring magresulta sa pagkaantala ng itinutulak na digitalization sa gobyerno ng Marcos Jr. administration.
“Unless urgent steps are taken for stronger data protection, we will see an erosion of public confidence in the government’s online security system, possibly negating the Marcos administration’s inroads in putting our country’s digital transformation on the fast track,” diin ni Villafuerte. | ulat ni Kathleen Jean Forbes