RISK ANALYSIS SKILLS are some of the top technology and cybersecurity work skills in demand right now as the economy recovers from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, an enterprise data security company said.

“This is mostly knowing about what threats are coming in, what risks the industry is facing, and how they’re going to fight it,” Trend Micro Philippines Director of Threat Research and Cyberthreat Training Alma S. Alvarez said in an online event on Monday.

The company conducted a cybersecurity survey with over 170 respondents in the information technology sector ahead of Trend Micro’s online forum.

The biggest cybersecurity threat is social hacking, respondents said. This type of security compromise is considered non-technological, with only half of the respondents considering ransomware a critical threat. Ransomware is a type of malware that restricts its victims’ access to their own system unless a ransom is paid.

“We understand why this is, so because we have had incidents in the Philippines related to insider threats and data breaches,” Ms. Alvarez said.

The National Privacy Commission is currently investigating the possible collection of personal data from a website posing as an official Land Transportation Office site.

Corporate regulator Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in June told companies to improve their cybersecurity safeguards as they move their processes to digital due to the lockdown and physical distancing measures.

While there is variation in demand for different types of cybersecurity-related roles, five out of the top 10 information technology roles with high attrition rate in companies are cybersecurity-related.

As companies start putting more money on cybersecurity measures, their top investment is in infrastructure such as networks, hardware, and software.

“The second (top) investment is people—training them, equipping them, giving them the right compensation so that they do not lose them, so that they attract talent,” Ms. Alvarez said.

The company’s annual cybersecurity conference was held online on Nov. 10-12. — Jenina P. Ibañez

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