THE PHILIPPINES is more vulnerable to cyberattacks due to its insufficient cybersecurity awareness and slow progress in digital transformation, technology company ManageEngine said.
“Digital transformation has made it difficult for information technology (IT) administrators to rely solely on endpoint detection and response solutions. To gain the upper hand amid the proliferation of advanced threats, IT administrators need a solution capable of reducing blind spots through network data analysis,” Ramprakash Ramamoorthy, director of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research at ManageEngine, told BusinessWorld via e-mail on Oct. 25.
ManageEngine is the enterprise IT management software division of Zoho Corp. Pte. Ltd., a multinational technology company.
The Philippines has been hit the most by cyberattacks among its Southeast Asian peers this year, according to a recent report released by Palo Alto Networks.
Twenty-nine percent of Filipino organizations have reported an increase in cybersecurity-related incidents of 50% or more, with 51% saying that they are at high risk from threats, according to its report.
For instance, several government agencies have been hit by cyberattacks in this year alone where data on millions or over 600 gigabytes worth of data were obtained from state-run insurance firm Philippine Health Insurance Corp.
Mr. Ramamoorthy said organizations in the Philippines are in need to be armed with advanced network detection response (NDR) solutions as cyberattacks are turning to be more sophisticated.
“NDR solutions can catch threats that have evaded firewalls or other signature monitoring tools. NDR solutions can also benefit from AI- and [machine learning]-driven behavioral analytics that match historical data with events over longer time periods, shortening the diagnostics process and enhancing the recognition of post-attack patterns,” he said.
Installing an integrated monitoring system is also deemed critical in streamlining network security operations, he said, adding that this will allow organizations to utilize the advantages of AI-driven analytics.
“Fostering a culture of cybersecurity awareness through training is crucial. The Philippines also suffers from a shortage of cybersecurity talent, requiring about 180,000 professionals,” he said, citing a report published by the National Association of Data Protection Officers of the Philippines. — Ashley Erika O. Jose