AFP chief Brawner eyes ‘Cyber Command’

From Rappler (Oct 19, 2023): AFP chief Brawner eyes ‘Cyber Command’ (By BEA CUPIN)

The Philippine military chief says the AFP is subject to hacking attempts ‘almost every day’

MANILA, Philippines – Armed Forces of the Philippines chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. said on Thursday, October 19, that he wants to recruit more cyber security experts to expand the existing AFP Cyber Group into a “Cyber Command.”

“The Cyber Command will not have that physical territory but it will have the whole archipelago, the whole Philippines as its territory, because it will try to defend the cyber networks of the AFP,” Brawner explained on the sidelines of a forum hosted by Foreign Correspondents Association in the Philippines (FOCAP).

Currently the Cyber Group, in Brawner’s own words, is a “small unit” tasked with making sure the general network of the AFP is “safe and secure.”

Brawner made the announcement following a string of cyber attacks and apparent data security breaches in the Philippines, particularly involving government agencies.

Data, for instance, had been leaked following a late September 2022 ransomware attack on the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth). Private information of its employees were exposed in the data breach.

The AFP has been subject to these attacks, with Brawner noting that attempts to hack into the AFP’s network happen “almost every day.”

“So far it hasn’t been successful. We have been very successful in warding off, in defending our networks,” said the AFP chief.

“We believe that some of the attacks are foreign. Some of them are local,” added Brawner.

The plan and the proposal have yet to be presented before the commander-in-chief, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

“But I’m sure that this is aligned with the desire of our President,” he said.
What’s in a command?

In the AFP, there are area commands, with units from the different services under its wing, and there are commands that offer support to the whole military. The Cyber Group is one of those support units, alongside the AFP Reserve Command and Procurement Service, among others.

Brawner said he wants the Cyber Group expanded into a command so it can have more personnel and equipment.

When asked about specific number, the AFP chief could not provide specifics on the staffing he has in mind but said he was willing to go above and beyond to attract Filipinos who want to be the AFP’s “cyber warriors.”

“We understand that maybe some of them will not be able to cope with the normal recruitment process. For instance, if we require them to do 50 push-ups and so on, [but] what we are after is their skill, their intellect when it comes to cyber,” he said.

The AFP will not be recruiting more soldiers than they have already allocated in 2024. Instead, Brawner said they will allocate slots and efforts to recruit more “cyber warriors.”

“So in other words, instead of recruiting soldiers for infantry battalions, for instance, this time we will recruit cyber warriors,” he said.

Experience in US, Singapore – and Myanmar and Vietnam

In discussing his dream upgrade, Brawner drew from the cyber security systems of other militaries. The United States has the US Army Cyber Command, which “conducts cyberspace operations, electromagnetic warfare, and information operations” while also preventing enemies from doing the same.

In nearby Singapore, cyber security is handled by a fourth branch of its military, the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS). Its job is to “raise, train and sustain digital forces and capabilities” to defend Singapore’s peace and security in the digital world.

But in less democratic nations, cyber security units are dangers to civil liberty. In Myanmar, the military was found to be behind cyber attacks against pro-democracy media, according to research by the Sweden-based Unleash Research Labs.

Vietnam’s Force 47, a 10,000-strong cyber warfare unit, is tasked to counter “wrong” views on the web. In the one-party state, “wrong” views often mean voices of dissent.

Brawner said the Cyber Command would not be used as a troll army, or to assault civil liberties. “We will make sure that the Cyber Command will be there to defend our networks. So we will do passive defense when it comes to defending our cyber domain,” he added.

Existing units that also handle cyber security issues will be working alongside the Cyber Command. The Philippine Army’s Signal Regiment, for instance, will provide the “platform” in cyber security operations while the “brains” and expertise will come from the Cyber Command. – Rappler.com

https://www.rappler.com/philippines/afp-chief-brawner-eyes-expanded-command-cyber-warriors/