By Junex Doronio
CITING “CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER” following the ransomware attacks on the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Bohol 3rd District Congresswoman Alexie B. Tutor has pushed for the mobilization of some 200 certified cybersecurity experts in the country to battle with the so-called “cyber terrorists.”
Tutor also said the cybercrime units of the Department of Justice (DOJ), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) could also be mobilized.
“We have a clear and present danger to our individual, collective, and national cybersecurity. Hence the urgent need for quick solutions,” Tutor stressed.
At the same time, the Boholana lawmaker acknowledged the “dire shortage of certified cybersecurity specialists and professionals” in the country prompting her to propose that the government and private sector should roll out a targeted training and certification program with costs at least partially subsidized by the government.
“IT (Information Technology) industry practice prefers certification instead of licensure examination. The certification process is already there, so we only have to boost it to produce more cybersecurity experts,” Tutor said.
She also noted that “the law and IRR (Implementing Rules and Regulations) would take about three or more years” and appointing the members of the cybersecurity professional board will take a year or two.
She further observed that developing the licensure exam would take at least two to three years because it would be a new board exam. Board review and the first board exam will take another year.
“It would, therefore, take at least seven years until the first batch of cybersecurity board exam passers,” Tutor explained.
With this predicament, Tutor — who also chairs the House Committee on Civil Service and Professional Regulation — suggested that certification courses can be rolled out quickly in a matter of months and would have graduated in less than a year.
“Training can be conducted by state universities and colleges, private universities, and IT companies with the needed certification courses in the near term and later with degree programs,” Tutor said.
She added, however, that the aspirants should “still be screened for cybersecurity certification training.”
“Existing cybersecurity degree programs can be upgraded…Some or all of the current 200 certified cybersecurity experts could be mobilized to teach. Trainees can be selected from recent and old graduates of IT, accounting, finance, and criminology degree programs,” Tutor concluded. (ai/mnm)
