Blog 1: Cybercrime Basics
According to the Philippine Country Profile in the Digital 2024 Report, Filipinos spend the longest average amount of time on the internet using mobile phones at least 5 hours and 20 minutes per day. 73,4% of the Filipino population comprised active user identities. Lastly, our country listed the fourth most immersed users, spending 40.2% of the total internet time on social media platforms. With these statistical results, it tells that Filipinos can be victims of cybercrimes that are happening everyday in every Filipino going through cyberspaces.
Cybercrimes in the Philippines significantly increased during the pandemic as most of the Filipinos spend time online. These illegal cyberactivities involve the use of computers or networks in doing or committing traditional crimes like frauds, thefts, and harassments, or new digital crimes like hacking, data interference, and creating malware. These violations cause harmful effects, especially financially, on individuals, businesses, and government.
Notable cybercrime cases in the Philippines are the PhilHealth Data Breach in 2023, where the hacker hacked the sensitive health records. In 2018, the Facebook Cambridge Analytica Scandal happened, the misuse of user data for political manipulation. The fake investment and love scams run by offshore gaming firms of the POGO Scams, which significantly happened in the Philippines.
In preventing cybercrimes, a legal framework tackles these malicious activities, which are provided by The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10175). This Philippine cyberlaw addresses online offenses, aiming to protect computer systems and data, penalizing related crimes. However, the implementation of the law still continues to evolve, balancing security and civil liberties.
These cybercrimes not only negatively affect individuals’ privacy and finances, it may produce severe psychological, emotional, and reputation damage. Often victims feel violated, powerless, and isolated. Which can be a “double hit,” suffering both theft of assets or identity and emotional distress.
To prevent these cybercrimes, creating password with complex, strong, and unique codes and characters will secure the privacy of the accounts. With the help of password manager, it generate and store passwords for secure management. Setting profile to private mode and limiting oversharing to reduce digital footprint. Lastly, do not give “One-Time Passwords” on other people to prevent hacking.
To conclude, cybercrime is significant in the Philippines, because Filipinos mostly spend time on technologies and the internet, making us to be targeted and vulnerable to malicious activities in digital environments. With the help of the legal framework provided by the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 and being aware on the proper management of security settings, Filipinos can prevent these cybercrimes and be satisfied by the benefits of the internet.
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