Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 4) — The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said the technical issue that occurred on New Year’s Day at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport is not related to any cybercrime.
The Department of Transportation said in a statement that the CAAP already informed the Department of National Defense about this, noting that “the affected electrical equipment could not be manipulated from outside the CAAP compound but a review will still be conducted by cyber-security experts.”
At Tuesday’s CAAP briefing of several Cabinet officials regarding the airport glitch, the officials agreed that there is a need for the immediate upgrading of CAAP’s equipment.
Information and Communications Secretary Ivan Uy expressed full support in helping resolve the issue and assisting CAAP in updating its system.
Meanwhile, National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos suggested declaring the country’s air traffic management system vital to national security to facilitate purchase and prevent the incident from happening again.
“The breakdown of a vital infrastructure such as the CNS system of CAAP constitutes a threat to national security so the need for immediate action,” she said.
