THE Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) has launched an online campaign aimed at raising public awareness on cyber security amid growing concerns of cyber attackers shifting their focus to the Asia-Pacific region.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the BAP said it expects to increase public awareness on cyber security but also strengthen the banking industry’s resilience to cyber attacks.
The BAP said that apart from involving financial institutions in strengthening cyber resilience, engaging the banking public is also important in terms of building a more holistic approach to cyber security.
“The world is so wired now that cyber security is everyone’s concern. The campaign is our way of raising awareness and partnering with the general public to prevent cybercrimes,” BAP President Cezar P. Consing was quoted in a statement as saying.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) enjoined the financial institutions it supervises to participate in the BAP Cybersecurity Incident Database (Bapcid) to strengthen the banking industry’s resilience to cyber attacks.
The campaign will promote cyber awareness through regular posting of online content about tips and “need-to-know” concepts, giving the public a better appreciation of cyber security.
The BAP said it is optimistic the online campaign will help the public become more cyberliterate and vigilant.
“Breaches in private information systems are one of the main factors that discourage Filipinos from engaging in digital payments,” the BAP said.
The BSP earlier said that cyber security remains to be one of the biggest threats in the Philippine banking industry as they become more sophisticated and pervasive, adding that the costs and possible economic impact of cybercrimes are high.
“Our goal is to build a more vigilant banking community through proper and accessible education,” BAP Cybersecurity Chairman Edwin R. Bautista said. “We are optimistic the campaign will empower our customers and clients to become more conscious before clicking suspicious links online.”
The BAP also released three cyber-security videos in both English and Taglish (a mix of English and Tagalog) on phishing, malware and mobile and online banking. The infomercial videos will be circulated among the membership’s bank branches and other channels.
“Aside from the Bapcid and our cyber-awareness campaign, we are also developing industry projects to address the concerns of the banking public on cyber security,” BAP Managing Director Benjamin P. Castillo said. “Moving forward, we are encouraging everyone to visit the BAP web site to know more about our campaign.”
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