Lemuel Jay Raul O.

Orillo

1. Do you think this plan would help our country? In what way?

The use of emerging technologies and the internet has left individuals and organizations

vulnerable to outside attacks. The protection of information within our government and

institutions heavily relies on cybersecurity, which depends on various factors such as

technology, management procedures, organizational structures, law, and human

competencies.

The National Cybersecurity Plan 2022 (NCSP 2022), launched by DICT, is still a work in

progress due to the crucial nature of information protection in national security strategies

and the lack of cybersecurity professionals and technical resources in developing countries

like ours.

Nonetheless, NCSP 2022 will provide significant advantages for our country by increasing the

knowledge of Filipino people, including government officials, law enforcement personnel,

and media operators, in providing and knowing online security. Cybersecurity will ensure that

the government database is protected from cyber-attacks and data theft while being

addressed by the Philippine government for economic security.

2. What can you suggest in improving the security in our country?

As our reliance on ICT continues to grow, it is our collective responsibility to ensure online

security. To this end, I propose several suggestions.

• Firstly, raising awareness of cyber risks within the business sector is crucial, given
the increasing prevalence of online operations. Implementing security measures
to prevent, protect, respond to, and recover from cyberattacks is vital.

• Secondly, raising awareness of cyber risks among users is equally important, as

they are often the weakest link in the security chain. Adopting the right
cybersecurity norms is imperative.

• Thirdly, the government should increase the budget for the Department of
Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to establish cybersecurity
measures to guard against cyber threats. The DICT is responsible for crafting
comprehensive and realistic national cybersecurity plans to safeguard critical
infrastructure, government and military networks, businesses and supply chains,
and the Filipino people.

• Fourthly, coordination between national institutions such as the DOJ, NBI, DILG,
PNP, DND, and others is necessary. For instance, the DOJ investigates and
prosecutes cybercrimes, while the DND defends the military network from
cyberattacks and gathers foreign cyber threat intelligence. All national institutions
should support national protection, prevention, mitigation, and recovery from
cyber incidents. However, my fourth suggestion would not be effective without a
sufficient number of cybersecurity professionals. Therefore, I recommend
providing free cybersecurity training for them, as well as free education on
cybersecurity for Filipinos who aspire to become cybersecurity experts.