Philippines’ major telecoms group, Smart and PLDT said it welcomes the country’s new Digital Forensics Platform and Laboratory launched by the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center, or ICC.The new facility aims to improve the government’s initiatives to fight cybercrime, especially, online sexual abuse and exploitation of children.
Following the unveiling of this new laboratory, the group said that it has strengthened its cyber security systems as it continues its cooperation with the local government in fighting across the digital landscape.
The new facility will help CICC to work closely with other law enforcement agencies in the country to conduct comprehensive digital and forensic investigations.
The group’s Chief Information Security Officer, Angel Redoble, meanwhile stressed that they will continue to address these challenges in the cyberspace.
“Children became more vulnerable to cyberattacks after the pandemic forced them to stay at home and get online to study and connect with friends, and cyber criminals have also been targeting them. We have fortified our cyber defenses and strengthened our coordination with the government to make the internet safer for kids.”
According to PLDT and Smart, they have beefed up their efforts to support the government in its crackdown on online child abuse. By the end of May this year, it has blocked nearly 300,000 URLs linked to these criminal activities.
The group has also collaborated with other private and public sectors in urging the country’s president to sign into to law the bill against online child sexual abuse before he steps down from office on June 30.