PLDT Group leads Philippines in global incident response, protecting customer data

The PLDT Group’s Cyber Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) has been officially admitted to the global Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST), giving the telco group access to valuable data and tools that will further beef up its formidable playbook against cyberthreats and attacks. The PLDT Group’s CSIRT is also the first and only Philippine-based organization to join the premiere group which is recognized as a global leader in incident response. Its membership to FIRST helps the PLDT Group predict and respond to threats faster before they can compromise its assets.

“FIRST offers a treasure trove of information shared by more than 700 incident response teams from governments, businesses, and the academe in more than 100 countries around the world. As we continue to beef up our preventive and detective capabilities, FIRST also enables us to further protect and secure our customers and their data,” said Angel Redoble, Chief Information Security Officer at PLDT, Smart and ePLDT.

Founded in 1990, FIRST was convened to exchange information and foster cooperation on issues of mutual interest like new vulnerabilities or wide-ranging attacks following the computer security incidents known as the “Internet worm” that ground computers worldwide to a halt, and the “WANK worm” that trolled computers with random pop-up messages. While different organizations responded to contain the infection, their actions were isolated and uncoordinated which resulted to duplicated or even conflicting solutions.

FIRST was convened to address these issues by providing a platform for stakeholders to share their best practices and experiences. It encourages cooperation and coordination among members in incident prevention, to stimulate rapid reaction to incidents, and to promote information sharing, especially, in the global community.

“The PLDT Group can, likewise, share its extensive experience in fending off cyber-attacks and preventing cybersecurity incidents with our fellow FIRST members,” added Redoble.

The PLDT Group has thwarted more than 16 billion cyber-attacks and attempts to breach its network in 2023. It has also prevented more than 18 billion attempts to open malicious domains in the same period.

The efforts of PLDT and Smart to boost its cybersecurity capabilities are rooted in their customer-centric culture where they aim to elevate the quality of customer experience by protecting them from threats and cyber-attacks. PLDT and Smart also relentlessly keep customers secure from cyber-attacks by preventing attempts to open malicious domains, and blacklisting malicious URLs and links tied to phishing, spams, hoaxes and other illegal activities.