EDITORIAL - Vulnerable targets

The Philippines has a Data Privacy Act, an E-Commerce Law and Anti-Wiretapping Law. Yet in Southeast Asia, the country is reportedly the most vulnerable to cyber attacks. Although the Philippines ranks 37th out of 193 states in terms of cyber security preparedness, data from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation also showed that globally, the country ranks 10th in falling prey to cyber attacks.

Apart from weak enforcement of cyber security laws, experts cite the low awareness of Filipinos about practices that increase vulnerability to cyber attacks. These include readiness to click on links and open emails from unknown sources. With Filipinos reportedly spending an average of four hours and 17 minutes daily on social networking sites in 2017, there is greater vulnerability to hacking, phishing and malware.

Filipinos deeply engaged in social networking aren’t the only targets. As the nation has seen, banks and government offices have also come under cyber attack. Around the world, corporate giants and government security and financial agencies are also favorite targets.

Countries that produce many cyber security experts also tend to be favorite targets of attacks. FBI data showed that the top targets of cyber attacks in 2017, ahead of the Philippines, were Canada, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, China, Japan and Germany. In Southeast Asia, Malaysia and Singapore were among the top 20 victims of cyber attacks in 2017.

The presence of hackers in the country gives greater urgency to tightening the enforcement of cyber security laws. It also calls for greater effort to raise public awareness of what can be done to minimize vulnerability to data privacy breaches. The popularity of social media must be accompanied by information campaigns to make the public aware of the risks, which could include identity theft and losing one’s life savings.

The internet is a powerful took for gaining knowledge, sharing information and social networking. Like any powerful tool, it must be wielded with a healthy amount of informed caution.