Binay urges gov't, private sector to fight cyber threats together

MANILA, Philippines - Vice President Jejomar Binay has called on the government and the private sector to work together to address cyber threats, which he said could be worse than weapons of mass destruction.

Speaking to participants of a cyber security forum in Camp Aguinaldo, Binay noted that cyber attacks do not know any borders and could harm the economy and politics of countries.

“The defeats that can be suffered eclipse the damage of any conventional war that even the weapons of mass destruction which the civilized world deplores for just cause can’t equal the speed and depth of damage,” Binay said.

“Both the private and public sectors risk the most painful losses and as such we must stand shoulder to shoulder if we are to guarantee safety if not victory,” he added.

Binay cited the recent cyber attacks staged by Chinese and Filipino hackers amid the tension created by the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal standoff.

Chinese hackers allegedly defaced some Philippine government websites, prompting Filipino hackers to retaliate by attacking Chinese Web pages.

Binay said most cyber crimes occur between, if not among, countries with conflicting agenda. 

“Since countries and economies are interconnected, once a country’s information system is not effectively protected, all underlying infrastructures of all interconnected economies are threatened,” the vice president said.  

“Cyber attacks in a national scale can therefore make or break a nation’s political and economy position,” he added.

Binay acknowledged that some Philippine officials have recognized the importance of strengthening the country’s cyber security system.

He said some lawmakers are pushing for the approval of the Cyber Security Act of 2012, which aims to protect an environment conducive to the development of information and communications technology.

“We must acknowledge the fact that we are now faced with a new battlefront, a battlefront considered unimaginable in the past, one which creates a borderless world,” Binay said.

“As it is, we must be organized and unified, we must strengthen our ties with the private sector and our global counterparts, be geared towards improving our resilience to cyber incidents, and proactively reduce cyber threats,” he added.