DICT-7 Regional Director Frederick DC. Amores (L) together with DICT-7 Cyber Security focal person Engr. Royden Rusiana (R) during the press conference in Cebu City. (MSH/PIA Cebu)CEBU CITY, Cebu (PIA) — After the recent discovery of an alleged scam hub in Cebu’s I.T. Park, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) in Central Visayas is reminding the public to remain vigilant and practice critical thinking to avoid falling victim to scams.
“We have to exercise critical thinking tinuod ba gyud ni (whether this is really true). If it’s too good to be true, it’s probably not true. Let’s all be careful,” said DICT regional director Frederick DC. Amores.
Amores emphasized the importance of cybersecurity awareness, warning that even the most advanced security systems can be rendered ineffective if individuals are not mindful of potential threats.
“Bisa’g unsa pa nga restriction nga i-base, if the people are not cognizant of the risk, naa’y gipadala nga email, click dayon ka kay imong friend nagpadala or in messenger, that’s a risk,” he said.
(No matter what restrictions are in place, if people are not cognizant of the risk – for example an email is sent and you click on it immediately because your friend sent it, that’s still a risk.)
While the government has sufficient mechanisms such as firewalls to prevent cyber threats, Amores emphasized that the first line of defense is the informed and responsible behavior of the public.
Amores also warned against the misconception that hacking can be justified if done for a greater good.
“Generally, if you hack, you want to be like Robin Hood, I think that’s also a slippery slope. If you’re doing it for good, you go hack some organizations. I think that’s also very dangerous,” he said.
“Any form of hacking, unless sanctioned because you’re part of the business allowed to do that, is illegal. Therefore, anyone, especially in this case, that act of committing hacking is still illegal,” Amores added.
Amores urged the public to take action when encountering online scams, such as filing cases in court rather than venting frustrations online.
“I would like to exhort everyone, if you have this, you take the time to do something about it. Not just complaining on social media,” Amores said.
The public is also encouraged to actively support cybersecurity advocacy and to report suspicious activities to DICT or to proper authorities.
“If there are any information like this that you notice, we are very open to receive your inputs so we can also (determine) how best to resolve this,” Amores said.
Unregistered and non-compliant businesses, especially in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector, are tagged as ‘red flags’ and should be reported to authorities when identified.
“That’s something we can also look at in the government as to mga na (red) flag ni sya kay naa gyu’y mga business dili lang gyud mo follow sa sakto nga rules and regulations. We can watch out for that,” Amores said.
(That’s something we can also look at in the government if these companies are red-flagged, because there are businesses that do not follow the proper rules and regulations. We can watch out for that.) (MSH/PIA Cebu)
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