At Dito’s franchise hearing, senators hit the lack of a cyber defense plan against attacks

MANILA, Philippines – Senators on Monday questioned the apparent lack of mechanisms to combat cyber threats and attacks on the country’s Internet infrastructure, including those posed by state-sponsored hacking groups.

As the Senate public services committee addressed the renewal of the China-backed Dito Telecommunity franchise, national security adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. was questioned about cyber threats against the country and how the government would handle such attacks.

“We are aware of the possible threats. We know that in cyberspace there are outside operators or unknown hackers who can always disrupt our systems, ”Esperon told the committee.

“We don’t just target Chinese sponsored ones, but in general. When the arbitration award was published, we experienced many hacks. Many government offices were hacked. It may not necessarily be China, but they could be located in other countries. That is the type of threat we face in cybersecurity, “he added.

Currently, there is a cybersecurity group within the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Esperon noted.

Senator Grace Poe, chair of the Senate public services panel, then asked Esperon about the mechanisms in place in the event that the country’s Internet infrastructure comes under attack.

“Please give more details because we know there is a threat, but how are we going to address it if it really happens? Will we shut down the system for a few hours? Poe asked.

In response, Esperon said that it should also be incumbent on telecommunications companies to comply with the national cybersecurity plan.

It also sought more funding under the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) for a “lawful interception operations center.”

“Right now we don’t have that?” Poe asked.

“We don’t have that. That is why we need some funds for that for the DICT, ”Esperon said in response.

‘There really is no plan’

Hearing this, Poe pointed to an apparent lack of a proper plan to protect the country from cyberattacks.

“This is the problem. We are talking about the Dito Telecommunity franchise, one of the questions that arises is how we protect ourselves knowing that a certain percentage of property is owned by a foreigner,” said Poe.

“How can the government assure us that it has given a fair assessment of the security of our sovereignty if we don’t even have a proper cybersecurity group to do the assessment?” she added.

Dito, where Chinese state-owned China Telecom has a 40 percent stake, is a conglomerate led by Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy. In 2018, it was selected to become the third largest telecommunications player in the country.

Concerns arose about Dito’s presence in the country after the country’s defense department earlier signed an agreement with the com that would allow the company to build cell sites within Philippine military camps.

“By listening to Secretary Esperon, they are drafting this and that, but when it comes to the actual mechanism in place in case we have a threat, there really is no plan,” Poe continued.

Senator Risa Hontiveros also questioned the measures that allow the presence of Dito Telecommunity in the country when the Philippines appears to be unprepared to defend itself against cyber threats and attacks.

“We cannot divorce the Dito franchise from ChinaTel’s participation in it. At a time when China continues its adventurism in disputed territories in the Western Philippine Sea, it is even more crucial that we remain vigilant and fiercely protect what is rightfully ours, ”he said.

Hontiveros’ warnings were based on a telecommunications study published last month by Creator Tech, an ASIA Pacific consulting firm based in Australia.

The study entitled “A Study on the New Proposed Telecommunications Operator in the Philippines: Critical Success Factors and Likely Risks” raised serious concerns about national security and the selection and impending operation of Dito Telecommunity-China Telecom as the third player. telecommunications of the country. .

This developed after engineer Pierre Galla of the Internet and ICT rights group Democracy.net.ph said that the Philippines would still have to establish a “cyber defense doctrine” to guide the military in the fight threats in the digital landscape.

“There have been no reports on what the cyber defense posture of the Philippines is,” Galla said.

‘Representative of the Chinese regime’

“ChinaTel is not a private corporation. This is a representation of a Chinese regime trying to pressure and impose its will on the region, ”said Hontiveros.

She said allowing what she believed to be a “representative of the Chinese government” to establish networks in the country and facilities in military camps could open opportunities for a “Chinese cyber offensive” against the Philippines.

Esperon said, however, that telecommunications companies Globe and Smart also have foreign partners such as Dito.

“Globe is not a 100 percent Filipino company. Globe has Singtel as a partner, Singapore. Smart has another foreign partner, this is Indonesia, ”he said.

But Hontiveros pointed out that, unlike China, these countries do not force state-owned companies to access state secrets when necessary.

“Time and again, I have expressed my concern regarding the intrusion of the Chinese telecommunications company Dito into the country. The revelations from the new CreatorTech study are not surprising, as many of our own experts have already pointed to national security issues, ”he emphasized.

Hontiveros said it has repeatedly warned that “ChinaTel, which has a 40% stake in Dito, is 100% owned by the People’s Republic of China” and that “CreatorTech also found it necessary to articulate” this warning.

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