BIR, Customs ordered to strengthen cybersecurity

FINANCE SECRETARY Carlos G. Dominguez III ordered the government’s main revenue collecting agencies to beef up their cybersecurity measures amid a rise in cyberthreats and attacks.

“Please make sure that your cybersecurity measures are up to date and effective against all sorts of threats,” he told the Bureau of Customs (BoC) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) during a recent meeting of the Department of Finance (DoF) Executive Committee.

Mr. Dominguez in a statement also expressed concern over the increase in online financial scams as more Filipinos turned to online transactions during the coronavirus pandemic.

Finance Undersecretary Antonette C. Tionko, who oversees both bureaus, was quoted as saying cybersecurity measures are included in the BIR and BoC’s digitalization programs.

“Please make sure that that’s up to date because apparently, (cyberattacks are) getting more and more prevalent,” Mr. Dominguez said.

Even before the pandemic, Mr. Dominguez instructed the DoF and attached agencies to ramp up digitalization programs. Local government units were also told to digitize tax processes as their share of national taxes increase this year.

The BIR is working on nearly 50 digitalization projects, most of them involving making tax payments easier.

About 94% of tax returns were filed electronically in 2020, from 43% in 2015.

Electronic payments made to the bureau exceeded four million transactions in 2020, more than doubling the 1.91 million in 2015.

Mr. Dominguez’ call for stronger cybersecurity is a response to recent cyberattacks.

The National Bureau of Investigation last month said they caught five people involved in the hacking of more than 700 BDO Unibank, Inc. accounts in December.

The bureau is also investigating the alleged phishing scam that stole funds from the Land Bank of the Philippines accounts of several teachers.

Last week, the Bankers Association of the Philippines and the Department of Justice launched an anti-cybercrime partnership on information sharing and training, as losses from bank fraud during the pandemic hit P1 billion. 

In 2020, Mr. Dominguez also asked DoF bureaus and government financial institutions such as state-run pension fund and insurance agencies to come up with a cost-effective cybersecurity strategy to protect against data breaches. — J.P.Ibañez