Metro Manila, Philippines – Some experts say the weakest link in the cybersecurity chain are humans, thus some groups have taken up the cudgels to train tens of thousands of cybersecurity professionals in the next five years.
The National Association of Data Protection Officers of the Philippines (NADPOP) and other organizations launched an initiative on Thursday, April 3, to strengthen the cybersecurity workforce and secure the digital lives of Filipinos.
The “CyberBayan” aims to train at least 180,000 cybersecurity professionals by 2030.
NADPOP founding president Sam Jacoba said the training will offer courses on data privacy, governance, risk and compliance, artificial intelligence governance, and digital transformation.
He said the vision is to come up with 1.44 million workers to build the “digital human capital of the Philippines” to counter threats such as disinformation.
“You’ll reach around $300 million in human capital investment so that the Philippines will now become a digital powerhouse that can compete with the rest of the world,” Jacoba said in an interview with NewsWatch Plus.
Groups that signed the memorandum of agreement at the Makati Diamond Residences were NADPOP, Philippine Computer Emergency Response Team (PH-CERT), non-stock organization Secure Digital Life Center, tech firm Tools for Humanity, and the World Network.
Jacoba said the groups want to focus on training micro, small, and medium enterprises, but it would also need the help of government, private sector, academe, and civil society to reach such the desired figure of the workforce.
PH-CERT founder Lito Averia noted that the country must ramp up its capacity development and cooperation measures to achieve a “role modelling” tier in cybersecurity.
Averia also warned about the unpredictability of artificial intelligence, which he said is among the most recent tech disruptors and challenges.
“We don’t know what kind of jobs will be created but definitely new jobs will be created, are being created. It is transforming cybersecurity jobs and how we practice cybersecurity,” he said.
Jacoba also said Information and Communications Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda must prioritize cybersecurity.
“Invest more resources in cybersecurity and also be part of that team that will craft the AI strategy for the Philippines,” he said.
