A study by Frost & Sullivan, which was conducted on behalf of the International Information System Security Certification Consortium (ISC), revealed that there will be a shortfall of 1.5 million cyber security professionals by 2020. With threats continuously evolving in size, form and sophistication, there is a need for organizations especially in the public sector to hire the right talent to improve their cyber security posture.
“Because the rapidly increasing demand for information security professionals far outpaces the market supply, there will come a time when even the most up-to-date infrastructure will not be enough to meet the level of security needed in the public sector,” said Nico Alcoseba, VP & Head of PLDT’s Disruptive Business Group. “To be effective in implementing a holistic security approach, we need to ensure that the right platforms, the right processes and the right talents are in place.”
Alcoseba continued, “Cyber security is one of the most pressing issues faced by the government today, not only in the Philippines but also worldwide. This raises the need for the public sector to either hire security professionals or engage with partners who can do that job for them.”
Government agencies are increasingly falling victim to cyber attacks. Just last July, following the United Nations International Arbitration court’s ruling regarding the West Philippine Sea territorial dispute, at least 68 Philippine government websites were attacked according to official reports.
Following this, public organizations in the Philippines are stepping up their efforts to tighten cyber security against hackers. One of these initiatives includes hiring the right personnel, which is also becoming a worldwide dilemma.
“Finding, hiring and retaining top security administrators can be difficult and yet is strategically-critical, especially now that the public sector is accelerating its own digital transformation. At ePLDT, we offer the right solutions and the right people, backed with globally-benchmarked security practices, that enable us to manage security policies and systems & help organizations comply to regulatory policies and standards,” said Nerissa Ramos, Group Chief Operating Officer of ePLDT, Inc.
Aside from ePLDT’s certified security professionals, the IT enabler also offers Managed Security solutions that help organizations avoid large initial investment through a more flexible operational expenditure model and protect endpoints whether in dedicated or hybrid environments.
ePLDT employs a risk-based methodology (Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, Recover) adopted from the cybersecurity framework recommended by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a globally-recognized standards body that is an agency under the U.S. Department of Commerce. This framework provides a high-level strategic view of an organization’s management of cybersecurity risk.
“ePLDT’s security engineers received international certifications on various security hardware and best practices,” Ramos said. “Offloading IT and security maintenance upgrades to our pool of experts will go a long way in ensuring that the government is secured as it goes through its digital journey.”
ePLDT is currently offering free Vulnerability Assessment (VA) to customers. VA identifies security gaps and infections within the organization thereby helping these organizations address loopholes and strengthen their defenses.
