AS a Computer Science student, Mark sees the importance of having skills in cybersecurity.
Especially now, when government agencies are often targeted by cyberattacks or hacking systems.
So, Mark didn’t hesitate to join the HackforGov competition of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) last Friday to further hone his skills in cybersecurity and digital forensics.
‘‘Mostly because threat actors usually target government agencies. So when there’s a competition like this, students are encouraged to practice more and even apply to the government because the government is hosting this,’’ according to Mark Owen Ramos, New Era University.
For Information Technology student Angelyn, she became more interested in joining HackforGov because she noticed the scarcity of women in the field of cybersecurity.
‘‘I’m into cybersecurity. And I attended the event last time, Girls in ICT, and they said there are few girls in the cybersecurity field. It’s motivating to try and pursue that field,’’ said Angelyn Hores, Pamantasang Lungsod ng Maynila.
The same goes for Bernadette, who is part of Angelyn’s team in HackforGov.
Although Bernadette is taking up Civil Engineering, she wants to learn about cybersecurity, which she believes she can use in her future job as an engineer.
‘‘It’s more on merging. Civil engineering as well as technology because civil engineering is a broad field. Of course, in systems, for example, the ones we use to measure things or to record things, security is also needed there. And cybersecurity is applicable to many fields,’’ Bernadette Ocampo, also said.
DICT admits that amidst the rampant attacks on the systems and websites of several government agencies, experts in cybersecurity are sorely lacking in the Philippines.
In fact, according to the Cyber Security Bureau of DICT, two hundred personnel are needed, but they only have sixty employees, which is lower compared to the number of experts in neighboring Asian countries like Myanmar.
What’s even worse, according to Cybersecurity Bureau Director Jose Carlo Reyes, not all government agencies have cybersecurity personnel.
‘‘Mostly none. With all honesty, mostly none. Even private organizations, most of them really don’t have a specific group or person focusing on cybersecurity,’’ according to Dir. Jose Carlos Reyes, Cybersecurity Bureau – DICT.
One of the reasons for the lack of cybersecurity experts in the government, according to Reyes, is the low salary.
Furthermore, he added that today’s youth prefer to work abroad where they can earn more.
‘‘We know the pay in government, it’s the salary grade, no buts, no ifs, this is the salary, you want to accept it or not. In the private sector, similarly, they are lacking because sometimes, we know that the younger ones, their priorities in mind are the level of salary,’’ Dir. Reyes added.
DICT hopes to increase interest among youth in the field of cybersecurity through HackforGov
Therefore, DICT hopes that through HackforGov, more young individuals will be encouraged to enter cybersecurity-related jobs.
‘‘We know that our pool of cybersecurity experts is quite declining.’’
‘‘Hopefully, we could realize that we have spare experts to send abroad, and we could retain more here in the Philippines to address our needs as well,’’ Reyes stated.
It can be remembered that several government agencies have been victims of hacking, including PhilHealth, Department of Science and Technology, and Philippine Statistics Authority.
According to DICT’s presentation at a recent hearing in Congress, from December 2023, they discovered over 30,000 vulnerabilities in approximately two thousand digital assets of the government.
Ten government agencies were identified by DICT as the most vulnerable to cyberattacks.
Government agencies vulnerable to cyberattack:
Department of Health
Department of Information and Communications Technology
Department of Transportation
National Economic Development Authority
Philippine National Police
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Philippine Economic Zone Authority
Civil Service Commission
Office of the President
Department of Science and Technology
