Cybersecurity is not on top of PH priorities

“In light of the recent spate of hacking directed toward its websites, the government reiterated its support for the passage of the cybercrime and data privacy bills, saying they are not taking these attacks lightly.”

--- Read full story here c/o GMA News

Image from the movie "The Matrix" 
(Photo Credit: http://www.moviespictures.tk/the-matrix.html)

This only shows how backward PH is in terms of ICT development. First, the coding practices used by the Government and perhaps other institutions in the country are below standards, if not obsolete. Most of these did not undergo rigorous security testing, for the simple reason that the establishment of safeguards require a lot of technical and monetary resources -which is very limited in this part of the world. Not everyone can afford to hire a professional systems analyst, more so the government. Second, cybersecurity is not a priority in the government's budget.  This is understandable considering that there are more pressing matters at hand such as education, social welfare and servicing foreign debts. For a developing country, the development of it's websites is the least of its concerns.

At present, the cybercrime bill and the data privacy bill are already pending in Congress on different levels. While everyone is hoping that the enactment of these bills would solidify government policy regarding online security, they are not an assurance that internet crimes will stop. At most, they will provide a sense of security for the users and a deterrent for hackers and the goons of the internet. Furthermore, an effective enforcement mechanism is necessary in order to fully implement the laws.

Passing a law is not the solution, but only a part of it.  Website developers, system analysts, programmers, and all internet users in general have to do their share to ensure the integrity and safety of their data and transactions across the web.


Entry No. 8
Soleil Flores

IMHO: We should be prepared for Cyberwars and Cyber Attacks

My partner and I discussed cyberwars over running errands two weekends ago. He mentioned that there's a worm called Stuxnet that can make factory plants explode according to recent news. We discussed this while I complain about my laptop crashing down when it's nearing finals week. I was absentmindedly putting bread, spread, and hotdogs into the grocery cart thinking about how vulnerable these computer systems are. I was mentally listing things I do with my laptop and how I can still be productive without it. (I decided to just wake up early everyday so that I can use the library's computer for work and school for free--working in the library is productive.) Until, I realized, he was really trying to engage me in a discussion so that I will stop thinking about my laptop.

Over text, we exchanged messages talking about international relations and law--whether the UN Security Council will have jurisdiction over this, whether this is similar to the nuclear testing case by France, whether the High Court has jurisdiction, and others. I was thinking whether impunity will be enjoyed by the perpetrator. He decided to write a paper on it while I promised myself to read more about it (since the topic that was approved for my SLR was on the Automated Elections). Risks. Management. IT. Cyberlibertarianism. Just some of the things that got stuck in my head.

IMHO, people should read more about digital armory and how in the future, ICT risk management will be a lucrative niche of our generation.

Is Stuxnet the best malware ever? Will I ever get my laptop back?

Paulyn Duman
Blog #19

State of emergency

A friend shared this news item on Facebook about two months ago:
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/040209-obama-cybersecurity-bill.html

The article was about a Senate bill that would give the US President the power to shut down public and private computer networks, including Internet traffic to and from critical information systems, in the event of a national "cybersecurity emergency."

Online security and hacking, it seems, has emerged as the quintessential 21st-century dilemma not just for us ordinary netizens, but even for the Pentagon too. This thought came to mind again yesterday, as we were preparing for a performance at a protest poetry event, and a friend mentioned that he has become paranoid about whom he approves as Facebook contacts. There hasn't been any equivalent proposal in the Philippines as far as we know, but do those of us who count such controversial figures as left-leaning Congresspersons and militant labor leaders among our Facebook friends have any cause for alarm (or at the very least, a cause of action for a writ of habeas data petition)? Could we perhaps be arrested out of the blue because of the "subversive" literary works that we keep posting on our blogs?

Considering the number of members that online causes are able to attract, it's pretty obvious that the Internet has become an important venue not just for free speech in general, but for political dissent and activism -- or for consciousness-raising, at the very least. Not surprisingly, legal measures like the US Cybersecurity Bill -- and any similar statutes that may crop up in the Philippine Congress -- are bound to draw much criticism.

Control over ICT infrastructures and electronic data inevitably raises such highly political issues as: who exercises control, and who decides when to invoke such power? Who defines these "cyber-emergencies," and what implications do they have for ordinary citizens? National security concerns have been used to justify everything from the Human Security Act to Senate hearings-turned-national embarrassments. If we're going to be taken offline because we (or some clever geeks hacking into Malacanang files) supposedly endanger the political integrity or territorial sovereignty of this Republic, there'd better be a really good explanation...if not free Wi-fi for life once the power re-starts.