PHL seen as a global cybersecurity hub, says Viettel

Vietnamese cybersecurity company Viettel Cyber Security said that it envisions the Philippines as a global cybersecurity hub despite rampant cyber threats and attacks across different industries.

“We also want to define the Philippines as the hub for cybersecurity, not for Asia, but I think for the whole world,” Viettel Cyber Security Country Manager Thomas Luu told BusinessWorld in an interview.

“We can see that the Philippines is now more and more developed. I think that’s also our opportunity, and we also need to grab the chance,” he added.

Mr. Luu noted that behavior and manpower are among the key drivers that can lead the country to such a role.

“The most important, I think, is the behavior. This one we can change. We can change the mindset, and the second one is about the manpower, the talent,” he said.

“The talent in the Philippines is very nice, and so they’re very good, and they’re so willing to learn,” he added. “When I come to the technology university in the Philippines, I really want to work with them more and more.”

The Viettel executive said that the company also aims to offer internship programs to universities to help equip Filipinos with industry-standard skills and training.

“Maybe in the future, maybe next year, I will work for the internship program with the university to build the team here,” Mr. Luu said. “I really (want) to invest here for the education in technology.”

Former Information and Communications Technology Secretary Ivan John E. Uy said that eight out of 10 Filipino cyber-experts work overseas. He added that only 200 talents remain in the country, far from the 2,000 experts in Singapore.

Among those remaining, only a few work in the government due to the measly P50,000 monthly average pay, compared to P200,000 in the private sector.

As the country continues to experience brain drain in the technology sector, the firm’s Cyberthreat Landscape Report for Q3 revealed that organizations and businesses in the country faced 7,656 phishing attacks, 4.3 million compromised credentials, and 76 data breach incidents totaling to 837 gigabytes (GB) breached data.

The report underscored that artificial intelligence (AI) and deepfake technology are expected to drive more advanced cyberattacks, particularly in phishing and malware.

“Phishing campaigns will become highly personalized and fully automated using AI, making them harder to detect through traditional defenses,” the report said.

“At the same time, AI-generated malware will be more adaptive and evasive, capable of bypassing antivirus, EDR, and sandbox solutions,” it added.

In a separate report, the technology firm Microsoft ranked the Philippines 20th among the most impacted countries globally by malicious cyber activity.

The report noted that the 32% increase in identity-based attacks worldwide is driven by information-stealing malware and ransomware schemes.

“The Philippines’ inclusion in the top 20 most impacted countries is a wake-up call for organizations across sectors,” said Peter Maquera, chief executive officer of Microsoft Philippines.

“Cybersecurity must be treated as a national priority. As digital transformation accelerates, we must ensure that every Filipino — whether in government, healthcare, education, or business — is protected by resilient, modern security solutions,” he added. — Almira Louise S. Martinez