Hontiveros sounds alarm on Chinese cyber espionage ahead of 2022 polls

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday cautioned that the government of China may heavily influence the 2022 elections through cyberespionage campaigns in the Philippines.

“Hindi na ako magugulat kung mangingialam sa ating eleksyon ang Tsina. Klaro namang gagawin nila ang lahat para ma-angkin ng tuluyan ang ating mga karagatan at teritoryo sa West Philippine Sea, at kasama na dito ang pagtatalaga ng lider na hindi kokontra sa utos nila. China’s cyberwarfare and disinformation campaigns will be one of the biggest threats to our national security and our democracy,” she said.

The senator’s warning also comes after cybersecurity firm Kaspersky unveiled that there is a “rare, wide-scale advanced persistent threat” by Chinese actors that gather geopolitical and economic intelligence in Asia and Africa.

The firm added that some 1,400 users in the Philippines, including government entities, have fallen victim to spear-phishing emails that contain malicious documents.

“Modus din ang paggaya kunwari sa mga app tulad ng Zoom na kadalasan ginagamit sa mga meeting at online classes ngayong pandemya,” Hontiveros said.

“Hindi namamalayan ng user, kinukuha na pala ang data niya. Hindi rin ito ang unang beses na naireport na may mga cyber espionage attacks laban sa Pilipinas na di umano ay mula sa Tsina,” she said.

“Dapat may mga polisiya at paghahanda na tayo sa tuloy-tuloy na pangingialam ng Tsina dahil mahaba-habang laban ito. Hindi tumitigil ang Tsina sa panghihimasok kaya dapat hindi rin tayo tumitigil sa pagpapalayas,” Hontiveros said.

She urged the Department of National Defense and the Department of Information and Communications Technology to look into Kaspersky’s reports immediately, adding that the agencies should also issue protocols that all Filipinos can follow to protect ourselves from China’s cyberintrusions.

“The DND and DICT should strengthen our cyberdefense framework, and at the same time, Filipino users should be made aware of how we can protect ourselves from cyberattacks,” she said.

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Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)