Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 11) — The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) on Wednesday said it will be vulnerable to a data breach if it will not be granted enough budget in 2024 to renew and maintain its cybersecurity systems.
Speaking to CNN Philippines’ The Source, DICT Secretary Ivan Uy said the department needs ₱600 million to ensure a strong cybersecurity system at least for a year. He warned that if the department does not get the budget, it will “end up like PhilHealth” which was a recent victim of a ransomware attack.
Officials said the PhilHealth data breach may have exposed the state insurer personnel’s information, and possibly even its members.
According to Uy, the DICT had a ₱600-million cybersecurity fund in 2022. The same amount was given to the department in 2023, but this was equally divided to cybersecurity and confidential funds. For 2024, it was allocated only ₱300 million for cybersecurity.
The DICT chief said the ₱600-million budget was intended for training cybersecurity experts, upgrading equipment, and renewing security system subscriptions, many of which are expiring next year.
House lawmakers on Tuesday also announced that the DICT was one of the agencies whose confidential funds will be realigned to those that focus on national security.
Uy said as a “token,” the DICT was given ₱25 million under its Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE), which he said will be only enough for salaries. He also pointed out that payment for informants cannot be sourced from the regular budget.
“What will happen there is that say we get an informant, we have to ask them to issue us a receipt and then we have to get their identification, those things, which will mean that these guys will be floating in the Pasig River by tomorrow,” Uy said.
He also said in a briefing: “If its a cyberattack on our banking system, on our energy transmission, on our telecommunications system, you can imagine the scale of the damage and disruption.”
“With that kind of damage we’ll probably be thrown back to the stone age,” he added.
The DICT secretary said the department plans to appeal to Congress.
