Leading integrated telco network PLDT Inc (PLDT) is encouraging businesses to adopt a holistic, end-to-end cybersecurity perspective that guards against complacency and enhance people’s cybersecurity capabilities, in order to remain strong.
“Many organizations have a false sense of security that if they have a firewall, IDS (intrusion detection system), or end-point security they are safe. That is a false sense of security,” said Alexis Bernardino, Chief Cybersecurity Evangelist of PLDT Enterprise and ePLDT.
“You need to look at cybersecurity from an end-to-end perspective. As a best practice, organizations need to move away from the traditional reactive approach and move the needle towards a proactive cybersecurity approach,” said Bernardino, adding that organizations should also consider using new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to automate their cybersecurity processes.
Bernardino was part of a panel discussion on cybersecurity and protecting businesses in the digital world at the recent GoDigital Pilipinas (GDP) Movement launch held in La Union.
A movement under the Presidential Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC), the GDP fulfilled the government’s call to address the risk of the digital divide by promoting digital literacy and building a sustainable digital ecosystem.
PLDT and Smart President and CEO Alfredo S. Panlilio are among the founding members of PSAC, under its Digital Infrastructure pillar.
Bernardino also encouraged organizations to train their employees in cybersecurity to strengthen their capabilities. “They always say that the weakest link is our people, but I beg to disagree. With the right training and knowledge, they can be force multipliers and our first line of defense,” he said, speaking in front of local business owners, students, and government representatives.
Bernardino also emphasized the importance of collaboration between private companies and the Government to protect the Philippine cyberspace.
“Cybersecurity professionals are scarce, so we need to talk to each other and work together because our adversaries are doing the same,” he said. “We must share our knowledge and expertise, and with the help of the Government, we will defend as one so that we can have a safer cyberspace in the Philippines.”
Supporting the connectivity needs of organizations and businesses across the country are PLDT and Smart’s integrated fixed and wireless networks across the country.
By the end of March 2023, PLDT has expanded its total fiber footprint to more than 1.1 million kilometers, consisting of more than 231,000 kilometers of international fiber and more than 874,000 kilometers of domestic fiber.
This fiber infrastructure also supports Smart’s 3G, 4G/LTE, and 5G networks, which will cover 97 percent of the country’s population by the end of March 2023.
PLDT and Smart’s continued efforts to improve the cybersecurity and connectivity needs of businesses and organizations across the country contribute to the PLDT Group’s efforts to provide connectivity to all, and to anchor the United Nations initiatives Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) especially SDG No. 9 – Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.
