The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has expressed support to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines by extending some of its cybersecurity services to companies in light of the SEC’s call for private companies to strengthen their cybersecurity and data privacy protection in the middle of increased digital transactions brought by the health crisis.
DICT is the primary policy, planning, coordinating, implementing, and administrative entity of the Executive Branch of the Philippine government that plans, develops, and promotes the national ICT development agenda.
The DICT will offer for free its core service, the Philippine National Public Key Infrastructure (PNPKI) to issue digital certificates that will be useful in determining the authenticity in web applications and releasing of documents online. Other applications that use Public Key Infrastructure include Virtual Public Networks (VPNs), wireless networks, and email and instant messaging.
Private companies are also encouraged to report cyber threats to the DICT’s Cybersecurity Bureau to handle and investigate the incidents as it also conducts vulnerability assessment and penetration testing services.
Companies can apply for the PNPKI service and check the guidelines at https://bit.ly/2O8bWiV or https://dict.gov.ph/pnpki/.
Among organizations that recently used the PNPKI service include the SEC, Civil Service Commission, Commission on Audit, CHED, State Universities and Colleges, Supreme Court, and the Philippine Congress.
(Sources: Avaloq; Finews.Asia)
