Tulfo pushes establishment of National Cyber Security Office
FILE PHOTO: Erwin Tulfo/INQUIRER FILES
House Deputy Majority Floor Leader and ACT-CIS Cong. Erwin Tulfo has asked the government to establish an agency that will protect and fight any attacks by hackers, or worse, by cyber terrorists, on the country’s computers and data systems.
Rep. Tulfo made the call after a series of attacks by hackers on the computer data systems and websites of various government agencies such as PhilHealth, the Department of Information, Communication and Technology (DICT) and even the House of Representatives.
“Nakita natin na kung gaano ka vulnerable at helpless ang mga ahensya natin sa pag-atake ng mga hacker sa mga websites o mga computer files ng mga government agencies natin,” Tulfo said.
(We have seen how vulnerable and helpless our agencies are when it comes to the attacks by hackers on the websites or computer files of our government agencies.)
“Bagamat naayos naman ang problema after a few days, we want sana na ma-prevent ang mga problemang ito bago pa ang mga pag-atake ng mga hackers na ito,” added Tulfo.
(Although the problem was eventually resolved after a few days, we would like to prevent these issues before the hackers’ attacks occur.)
He said many countries are already establishing cyber security agencies because almost all transactions and communication around the world are now online or digital.
For Tulfo, the cyber security office or agency will have the ability to safeguard and protect the government’s digital files against attacks by ordinary hackers and possible cyber terrorists.
“Surveillance and intelligence gathering, monitoring at quick damage control and retrieval of lost or stolen data or files ang magiging pangunahing trabaho ng naturang ahensya [will be its primary function of the agency],” according to him.
He added, “kasama din ang pag-identify ng mga hackers at cyber syndicates at terrorists [it also includes identifying hackers, syndicates and terrorists].”
“No digital file is safe anymore sa mga professional hackers ngayon, kaya we need someone to protect our nation from this new threat”, added the lawmaker.
He added that what happened to a bank and an e-wallet company that was infiltrated by hackers a few months ago, must serve as a reminder that syndicates are also in cyber space.
Tulfo plans to file a bill for the establishment of an agency to combat this problem and protect us all from any cyber attack.
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