PH, US, and Japan Forge a Joint Cybersecurity Agreement  

The Philippines, United States, and Japan have agreed to strengthen their cybersecurity cooperation against escalating cyber-attacks allegedly from China, Russia, and North Korea.  

US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met during a trilateral summit held in Washington on April 11, 2024, to discuss various economic and security measures. The measures reportedly included the agreement to “strengthen cooperation in the field of cyber such as the establishment of the Japan-U.S.-Philippines Cyber and Digital Dialogue.” 

This agreement comes in light of escalating territorial disputes in the region, the rising cases of cybersecurity incidents in the Philippines, and recent movements from Chinese-based hacking groups such as Volt Typhoon that are allegedly targeting the United States and its allies in the Indo-Pacific Region.  

According to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray, Volt Typhoon has already gained access to several critical US infrastructure and is simply waiting “for just the right moment to deal a devastating blow” and “induce panic.” Several US officials speculate that that the series of attacks from Volt Typhoon are attempts to hamper the mobility of the United States within the Indo-Pacific region.  

“It is very clear that Chinese attempts to compromise critical infrastructure are in part to pre-position themselves to be able to disrupt or destroy that critical infrastructure in the event of a conflict, to either prevent the United States from being able to project power into Asia or to cause societal chaos inside the United States — to affect our decision-making around a crisis,” 

-Brandon Wales, Department of Homeland Security, CISA.  

In response, China clarified that Volt Typhoon is indeed a criminal ransomware group but denied its collusion with the Chinese government and accused the US of “politicizing cybersecurity issues.”  

Cybersecurity Incidents in the Country Rising 

In recent months, the Philippines has seen a rise in cybersecurity-related incidents, targeting several government agencies and organizations, resulting in large-scale data leaks and exposition of computer and network vulnerabilities. A report by Trend Micro highlighted a spike in cybersecurity incidents in the Philippines where government agencies observed a 20 percent weekly increase in cyber-attacks.  

The Department of Communications and Information Technology (DICT) previously anticipated the increase in cyber-attacks this year, with threat actors taking advantage of the rapid digitalization and expanding digital economy of the country.