When government asks for help, the IT community should answer

DECODED: TECH, TRUTH, AND THREATS

The Sept. 18 shooting at Banga National High School in South Cotabato was the third deadly school shooting in the country, following incidents in Tacloban City and Zamboanga City. Three attacks in such a short period should force a closer look not only at security inside schools and minors’ access to firearms, but also at what young people encounter online.

This is a serious warning that dangers confronting young people no longer stop at the school gate. Harmful online spaces can draw them toward violent ideas and communities that reinforce anger, isolation, or other risks already taking hold. What young people repeatedly encounter online can shape how they see violence and, in the worst cases, influence what they do in real life. The danger is no longer confined to the screen. It can enter classrooms and school grounds, with devastating consequences.

Investigators are looking into an online community reportedly joined by the minor involved in the shooting, which left three students dead, including the gunman, and several others wounded. South Cotabato Governor Reynaldo Tamayo Jr. has asked the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group to determine what the community was and whether it had any connection to the attack.

The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) has also raised the possibility of a dark web connection. That remains a possibility, not an established fact. Authorities should be careful not to let a familiar and frightening term get ahead of the evidence. Harmful activity can take place on ordinary social media, messaging applications, gaming platforms and private online groups as well.

What deserves attention is CICC Executive Director Renato “Aboy” Paraiso’s appeal to IT communities, hacking communities and computer forums to come forward if they have relevant knowledge or access that could assist the investigation.

There is value in that appeal.

Cyber investigations can require expertise that does not always reside within one government agency. The Philippines has cybersecurity professionals, ethical hackers, digital forensic specialists, software engineers, researchers and academics who may know technologies, online communities and methods unfamiliar to investigators.

They may be able to point authorities toward relevant platforms, explain technical behavior or identify patterns that investigators should examine. But there must be limits.

Government should not turn an appeal for assistance into an invitation for freelance investigations. Volunteers should not be encouraged to hack accounts, impersonate suspects, expose personal information or enter restricted systems without legal authority. Nor should outsiders be given unrestricted access to evidence involving minors.

Where technical specialists are brought directly into an investigation, the government must determine the expertise required, vet participants and clearly define their roles. Access to evidence must be controlled and documented. Confidentiality, privacy and the chain of custody cannot become secondary considerations simply because assistance is being offered in good faith.

This case may provide reason to consider a more permanent arrangement. The government could establish a vetted pool of cybersecurity specialists from industry, universities, and civil society who can be called upon when highly technical cases exceed an agency’s available expertise. Members could be classified according to specialization and trained beforehand on evidence handling, confidentiality, and legal boundaries.

However, volunteers must supplement government capability, not replace it.

The state still needs its own digital forensic laboratories, skilled investigators, competitive technical positions, and continuing training. Calling for outside expertise is sensible when circumstances demand it. Relying on volunteers because government repeatedly lacks the necessary personnel is another matter.

CICC’s appeal recognizes something worth remembering: that the people who understand a threat best will not always be sitting inside a government office.

When public safety, and particularly the safety of children, is at stake, the technology community should be willing to help. Government, in turn, must make sure that such cooperation remains disciplined, lawful, and accountable.

In cyber investigations, expertise matters. So do the rules governing how that expertise is used.