DICT bolsters cyber drills, coordination ahead of Nov. 30 rally

• IN PHOTO: DICT Secretary Henry Aguda

By TechWatch PH Staff

With another round of protests expected on November 30, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is stepping up cybersecurity drills across government agencies to prevent a repeat of the website defacements reported during the September 21 rally.

“They’re doing continuous cyber drills now. Drill after drill,” said DICT Secretary Henry Aguda, noting that agencies have begun patching vulnerabilities and deploying new equipment as part of preemptive security measures.

Aguda said the DICT has also been engaging the local hacking community, many of whom have publicly pledged to avoid cyberattacks and instead help the government strengthen defenses.

“If you backtrack a month ago, there was a commitment wall disavowing violence. They will help the country in fending off cyberattacks,” Aguda said. “Locally, I’m quite confident now. We’re okay there. And they’re our fellow countrymen, after all. For the external side, that’s where they will focus — to cooperate with us so that no external actors can enter.”

On ongoing investigations into the September 21 defacements, Aguda said the matter is now being handled by law enforcement.

“I’ll leave that to the police for now. I think it’s an ongoing police pursuit,” he said. “So far, it’s quiet. I think our effort to reach out to Anonymous.ph worked. They’ve said they are disavowing any violence.”

READ:

DICT: 19 gov’t websites defaced during September 21 protest but quickly restored

The DICT continues to monitor online chatter but has yet to detect new threats as of this week.

“So far, it’s quiet,” Aguda added.

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