Growing tourism industry warned as hackers target visitor information
The local travel
industry has grown more competitive in
securing bookings with the continuous rise in the number of tourist
arrivals in the country. Last year, the Department of Tourism posted a record-breaking 7.1
million international tourist arrivals,
surpassing the 6.6 million arrivals in 2017 by 7.68 percent despite the
six-month closure of Boracay. An influx of this magnitude and the amount of
personal information it comes with call for industry players to strengthen
cybersecurity measures even more.
The
Philippines is an attractive destination not only for tourists but
also for hackers. In fact, cybersecurity
experts predict that the
Philippines will be among this year’s most targeted countries in the ASEAN
region for malware designed to avoid detection and possibly be a launch
pad for other cyberattacks. ePLDT is thereby urging airlines, cruise
lines, car rentals, hotels, and tour operators to be
extra cautious when handling their customers’ information.
“It’s
easy to get caught up in the overwhelming demand for travel services especially
during peak seasons like summer but strengthening cybersecurity measures must
always be a priority. Clients are entrusting confidential
information. Hence, it is the service providers’ responsibility to
handle it well,” said Angel Redoble, First Vice President and
Chief Information Security Officer of ePLDT Group, PLDT Group, and SMART.
Cybercriminals
infiltrate systems in various ways, one of which is by pretending to be
customers and then luring salespersons into believing they have lost their
reservation details. When the fake customers are asked to give personal
information for checking, they propose to send it via email and do so with an
attachment of data-stealing malware, which automatically downloads once
clicked. The malware then breaks into payment systems where it collects loads
of personal data such as credit card information.
Another thing to be wary of is a “rogue hotspot” or a Wi-Fi access point
set up by an attacker that mimics a legitimate hotspot provided by airports,
hotels, coffeeshops, etc. Victims
that connect to such rogue hotspots usually have no idea about the dangers
awaiting them because the attacks use familiar network names. An attacker can
collect sensitive user details and credentials like account names, passwords,
credit card details, and the like just by eavesdropping on the network traffic.
In some cases, attackers may push out malware to a victims’ device or redirect
victims to malicious sites or servers that will infect them with malware.
Having
the right cybersecurity solutions in place, coupled with sufficient user
awareness campaigns, can curb such incidents. It is essential to invest on
people, processes, learning and awareness, and of course, technology. In the
event there’s an absence of these, working with a trusted partner like ePLDT
can address this concern. ePLDT’s class-on-its-own
cybersecurity portfolio includes an end-to-end SOCaaS (Security Operations
Center as a Service) offering, which companies can subscribe to for monitoring,
alerting, incident analysis, response, and threat intelligence.
“With digital
transformation comes a number of challenges in security compliance
and data protection. ePLDT is extending its expertise to organizations to help
them set up reliable and resilient systems that promote the safety of
customer data, which is vital to business resilience,” said Nerissa
Ramos, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ePLDT.
To get ahead of these cybercriminals, the best way is to implement
cybersecurity measures and solutions that will predict and prevent attacks from
infecting systems in the first place. By employing available technology,
businesses will be able to ensure the security and privacy of data entrusted to
them, inasmuch as they ensure the physical safety of their establishments. ePLDT’s
Managed Security Platforms, on the other hand, provide deep inspection
capabilities and multi-level protection through technology partnerships
combined with best practices and local security expertise.
“We are
working hard to deliver effective, end-to-end cybersecurity services for
businesses—regardless of their industry—so they can protect themselves against
emerging cyberattacks,” said SVP and Head of PLDT and Smart Enterprise
Business Groups Jovy Hernandez.
Apart from Cyber
Security services, ePLDT delivers best-in-class digital business solutions up
to par with global standards which include Data Center services, Cloud, and
Managed IT Services. To know more about ePLDT, visit www.epldt.com. Leave IT to us. Let IT Be ePLDT.
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