BEING one of the industries at risk of cyber attack, the country’s educational sector should comply further with existing policies that help address its vulnerability to felons lurking on the Web.
“As to the Data Privacy Act being enforced in schools, there are institutions that still need to comply because of the amount of data they possess,” Engage Philippines President Reynaldo Lugtu said last Thursday during the media launch of Cyber Security forum organized by Global Chamber Manila.
Among the laws that deal with Web crimes, Data Privacy Act, otherwise known as Republic Act (RA) 10173, is a law that seeks to protect all forms of information, be it private, personal or sensitive.
“A lot of organizations are still not aware that they need to comply with it,” Lugtu told the BusinessMirror at the sideline interview.
He reiterated, though, that most of the private academic institutions are mindful of the data of students they have to protect.
“I know the big schools are complying now. They have come through the process of audit and compliance. That’s on the data privacy side,” he said.
Lugtu noted most schools invest a lot in infrastructure and technology. He added they hire data-protection officers and even data-protection lawyers for their respective organizations.
While he refused to comment on the adherence of public schools to RA 10173, he urged all education players to invest for the future. “You need to spend for it. So you should have a budget since compliance is a requirement,” he said.
Since 95 percent of data breaches are behavioral in nature, educators should come into play insofar as guiding or teaching the students on the proper use of the Internet.
Global Chamber Manila Executive Director Colin Christie cited “a fantastic role” both in K to 12 and higher education to address cyber threats.
“We should be taking up with the Center for Higher Education and the Department of Education the provisions in upcoming curricula to teach this in school,” he said.
Sharing the same sentiment with him, Lugtu recommended a course or topic on data privacy or cybersecurity should be integrated in the primary level.
“While youngsters are tech savvy right now, they are still unaware of the risks involved,” he said, referring to the wide use of applications among the young population.
Downloading an app usually requires personal data of the users, thus, enabling a developer or vendor to have access to their pertinent information.
“So our data now is not secured. We have to be cautious to that. Vigilance should start at the young age. They need to be critical of the apps that they use and the sites that they go to,” he said. “We have to teach them how to [do] ethical hack. So this gives them the understanding of how it is to hack, but also the responsibility that goes along with it.”
As a private entity, Global Chamber Manila is taking the initiative to hold a one-day Cyber Security forum at the Enderun Colleges in McKinley Hill, Taguig, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on January 31.
More than 250 representatives from both the public and private sectors, including government officials and members of academe, are expected to attend the event.
Topbilling the forum dubbed “Forum on Cyber Security and The Internet of Things” is Web expert Marc Goodman, author of the best-selling book Future Crimes.
He will discuss the many technological advances of the cyber world and its many pitfalls.
“We hope to use this occasion to provide Filipinos with a better grasp of recent developments in the automated age, as well as the technologies and best practices to help everyone protect themselves and their systems from attack and unauthorized access,” Christie said.
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