by Joel Pinaroc, Senior Writer
Digital Pilipinas, a private sector-led movement pushing for innovation and a technology ecosystem in the country vowed to work with the private and public sectors to address emerging cyber threats.
In an exclusive interview with fintechnewsph.com, Digital Pilipinas convenor Amor Maclang said: “At Digital Pilipinas, we are deeply concerned about the always evolving cybersecurity threats that a number of financial companies in the Philippines have to face. One example of this is phishing, which saw a sharp increase through 2020 and 2021 — during the height of the pandemic.”
Amor Maclang, Digital Pilipinas convenor and co-founder of the One ASEAN Fintech Movement (OAFM)
Maclang added that Digital Pilipinas is open to working with businesses and the government, particularly on collaborating on education and advocating policies for cybersecurity.
“We can collaborate with government agencies and businesses to share information about cybersecurity threats and best practices, we can also collaborate with government agencies and businesses to share information about cybersecurity threats and best practices,” added Maclang, who is also a co-founder of the One ASEAN Fintech Movement (OAFM). “This collaboration can help to improve the country’s overall cybersecurity posture.”
Advocating policies that promote cybersecurity
Speaking of policies, Maclang also shared that Digital Pilipinas is now preparing to push for policies that promote cybersecurity.
“We can advocate for policies that promote cybersecurity. These policies would promote cybersecurity, such as policies that require businesses to have strong cybersecurity measures in place and policies that provide funding for cybersecurity research,” she explained.
The fintech executive also emphasized the need for cyber education. “We can educate the public about cybersecurity threats and best practices. We can help to raise awareness of cybersecurity threats and teach the public how to protect themselves. This can be done through public awareness campaigns, educational materials, and workshops,” Maclang said.
The executive also shared her own experiences, saying, “Based on my own personal experience, having been a victim of phishing myself, I would say that the number one thing is to be careful when answering either text messages or calls that have to do with your finances. Be it your bank, credit cards, e-wallets, or what-have-you, you’ve got to double, even triple-check that you are actually looking at a legitimate text message or speaking to a legitimate representative.”
“Because otherwise, it’s easy to turn over your most important personal information and allow bad actors to potentially access your accounts. I think in most cases, it’s better to just ignore any unsolicited or unexpected calls or texts about your accounts, and if you really want to be clear, contact your bank or payment processors directly if you have any questions,” she adds.
Championing the Philippine digital economy
In line with establishing partnerships with the public and private sectors, Digital Pilipinas recently held its Digital Pilipinas Festival and the inaugural Festival of Festivals, highlighting the key issues on technology that the country now faces.
“We’re not just fintech and so for the first time, we are rolling out and inaugurating a couple of equally important festivals that will stand side by side with the Philippine Fintech Festival in championing the Philippine digital economy,” Maclang said.
According to the Digital Pilipinas convenor, the “Festival of Festivals” is a weeklong celebration of multiple festivals highlighting key industries and priority growth sectors that will support innovation and growth in the country.
The event formed part of the celebration of the Digital Pilipinas Festival that was held from November 20 to 24 at the SMX Aura in Taguig and in various co-located venues and innovation hubs across the country.
Other inaugural festivals that are being organized (or were organized) this year by Digital Pilipinas include the Philippine Investment Festival, Philippine Proptech Festival, Philippine Insurtech Festival, Philippine Digital SME Festival, Philippine Digital Government Festival, and the Philippine CyberSecurity and TrusTech Festival.