January 8, 2025
MANILA – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) assured the public that “systems are in place” to detect and deter cyber attacks, following a report claiming that Chinese state-sponsored hackers breached the Office of the President.
United States-based Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday morning that three of its informants had revealed a new breach flagged last August, targeting the Philippines’ executive branch and involving documents related to the West Philippine Sea dispute.
When asked by the media to comment during a briefing in Camp Aguinaldo on Tuesday, the AFP neither confirmed nor denied the report.
Instead, AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said, “Cyber attacks are a daily occurrence, and what is important is that we can detect and we can deter these attacks.”
“We have intrusion detection systems in place and intrusion prevention systems that are in place,” she explained.
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Padilla added that the AFP has coordinated with various agencies and allies, integrating cybersecurity into military exercises.
“In terms of the AFP, we have been trying to tweak our organization to the contemporary new challenges which is very heavy na rin (also) on cyber,” Padilla said.
“As you have witnessed, in the past months, we have activated our cyber command; kasama na din diyan (that is also) in tandem with our intelligence command,” the AFP spokesperson added.
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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved a six-year plan last April to strengthen the security and resilience of Philippine cyberspace.
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