Cyber attacks can wipe out the gains of economic growth and can drive away foreign investors, the chief of the country’s premiere institution on defense education said Tuesday.
Fermin de Leon Jr.,
president of the National Defense College
of the Philippines (NDCP), said while the Philippines achieved a robust
growth in the first quarter, cyber threats could affect efforts to sustain it.
“For example, if the
banking and financing system is paralyzed by a cyber attack, you can imagine
the cost in terms of millions of pesos and dollars per minute or per hour,” De Leon said in an
interview.
“This (threat) can really
affect our economy and even the defense and security. You can just extend your
imagination on the magnitude of what a cyber attack can do,” he added.
The Philippine economy
grew by 7.8 percent in the first quarter, buoyed by what officials described as
improved business confidence and consumer optimism.
The country’s growth rate
exceeded market forecasts and outpaced those of major East and Southeast Asian
economies including China .
De Leon said cyber
security threats could turn off private investors, one of the key sources of
employment.
“When foreign investors
and businessmen do not have the peace of mind to invest because of the
prevalence of cyber attacks, they will not bring their investments here,” he
said.
De Leon said all
sectors should work together to find ways to address the risks posed by cyber
threat, which he described as “a new emerging non-traditional security concern.”
Cyber security forum
Meanwhile, about 300
security practitioners worldwide will discuss key cyber security issues during
the SecureAsia@Manila forum to be held
in Makati Shangri-La Hotel from Aug. 7 to 8.
The even is being
organized by (ISC)2, the largest membership body of certified information
security professionals worldwide. The conference is also one of the highlights
of the upcoming 50th anniversary celebration of the NDCP.
“We hope that the local
information security practitioners and government officials can benefit from
this regional event by exchanging experience with the luminaries that the
conference draws from all over the world,” De Leon said.
“An increasingly
sophisticated threat landscape, coupled with the advancement of technology,
requires security professionals to keep abreast constantly of the latest
strategies to ensure that their organizations’ infrastructure are secured,”
said Clayton Jones, managing director for (ISC)2 Asia Pacific.
President Aquino has been
invited to serve as the event’s keynote speaker. Also invited were Vice
President Jejomar Binay and security experts from various countries.
Key conference topics
include organized crime and cyber espionage forensics, malware analysis,
understanding against uder-targeted attacks, and social media forensics.
Interested parties may
visit http://www.informationsecurityasia.com/
for more information.
http://www.philstar.com/nation/2013/06/04/950082/phl-growth-vulnerable-cyber-attacks
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