00:00Global Cyber Threats at Executive Order No. 54
00:03is our discussion with Francisco Ashley L. Acedillo,
00:08Deputy Director General for Cyber and Emerging Threats
00:10of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency.
00:13Good afternoon to you, Sir Ashley, and welcome to Bago Pilipinas.
00:17Good afternoon, Ma'am Nguyen and Ms. Nina.
00:20First of all, what is the role of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency
00:24in global cyber threats?
00:27Cyber threats are a huge problem now.
00:30There is no country, big or small,
00:34that we call powerful, superpower, or just like us, middle power.
00:39Everything that is connected to the internet
00:42and connected computers,
00:44or what we call network systems,
00:47all of those can be harmed by cyber threats.
00:52Okay, so what is the specific role of NICA
00:56to protect our infrastructure against cyber threats?
01:01First of all, through Executive Order No. 54
01:06approved by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. this January,
01:11the Office of the Deputy Director General for Cyber and Emerging Threats
01:18was established under our agency, NICA.
01:20And another office was established,
01:24what we call the Directorate for Cyber Intelligence
01:27and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction.
01:30Through this Executive Order,
01:33we were included with the Department of Information and Communications Technology,
01:39together with the Department of National Defense
01:42through the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
01:44So, there will be three pillars of cyber security in the Philippines.
01:50It means that the National Incident Response
01:54will be given by the DICT.
01:57The National Cyber Defense will be given by our soldiers
02:02in the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
02:03And the distribution of cyber threat intelligence
02:06will be given by us to the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency.
02:10So, under the Executive Order No. 54 approved by President Marcos Jr.,
02:15you will give power to NICA as the Intelligence Coordinator
02:18of all law enforcement and civilian agencies
02:21regarding cyber threats and cyber security.
02:24What is the importance of this to NICA's mandate?
02:27First of all, this will expand the scope of our Intelligence Coordinating Agency,
02:34especially regarding cyber security
02:37and the so-called emerging threats.
02:40Emerging threats come not only from weapons of mass destruction,
02:44which are composed of biological weapons,
02:46chemical weapons, and nuclear weapons,
02:48but also from the so-called new technologies,
02:54such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
02:58The role of NICA is important
03:00because in any defense of cyber security,
03:05we need what we call cyber threat intelligence.
03:08These are the information about new ways
03:13of how our computers can hack the internet.
03:16And this information is given to the DICT for their response
03:22and also to our Armed Forces
03:25on how to have a strong cyber defense.
03:31Through cyber threat intelligence,
03:34they are able to predict
03:36and therefore able to protect our cyber security systems.
03:41Okay. Do you have examples, sir,
03:43of these cyber threat intelligence
03:45that you call a weapon of mass destruction?
03:49Okay. That's a good question, Ms. Nina.
03:51Because we already have what we call AI platforms.
03:56The most famous one that came out last year
04:00is what we call ChatGPT.
04:02ChatGPT is usually used in a proper way
04:06for our students, for businesses
04:10that want to have AI-enabled platforms.
04:13But our terrorists,
04:16those criminal groups,
04:18they can also use ChatGPT.
04:21Because ChatGPT works with what we call prompts.
04:26We will ask something and they will answer it.
04:31Weapons of mass destruction are very technical weapons.
04:36If you don't have technical knowledge,
04:39you can't use it.
04:40But through ChatGPT or other AI platforms,
04:44you can ask the bad elements
04:48how they will use it.
04:51Even though there are AI developers
04:55who introduced what we call protections,
05:00there are ways to ask AI platforms
05:04so that they can abuse AI.
05:09That's why it's very important
05:11that we have a government
05:14that knows about these technologies
05:17so that we can limit the possible use
05:21of emerging technologies like this
05:24so that our country and our countrymen can benefit.
05:27Sir, if it's this sophisticated and very easy,
05:31actually, I know a lot of people
05:34who find their work very easy
05:36because of ChatGPT.
05:38And they can use it
05:41to make these weapons of mass destruction work.
05:45So how can you stop that?
05:46If it's very easy,
05:47how do you guard these weapons
05:51against the use of these technologies?
05:54For us to understand this problem,
05:57we should first understand
05:59how the course of the world has changed.
06:02Before, the big technologies,
06:06the advanced technologies,
06:07came from the research and development
06:11that was directed by the government.
06:13Now, it's the other way around.
06:15The cutting-edge technologies
06:17are mostly coming from big companies.
06:21There's the Alphabet,
06:24owned by tech companies.
06:29There's Amazon, Google, and Meta.
06:33So these companies
06:35are currently holding
06:37the most advanced AI platforms.
06:39What we need is to work with them.
06:42We need to have a regulatory body
06:45to make sure
06:47that the incoming AI technologies
06:50in our country
06:51have appropriate safeguards.
06:53And not only that,
06:55our companies,
06:59our universities,
07:01and educational institutions
07:02will be able to impart
07:03how to properly use these AI platforms.
07:06Because not only in weapons of mass destruction,
07:09AI will be misused.
07:12Even in simple cyber attacks,
07:15the so-called phishing attacks,
07:17where phishing emails are sent
07:20so that you can click on links
07:22that are connected to malware.
07:25That's the easiest way
07:27to use these AI platforms.
07:30And speaking of ordinary people
07:33who are affected by this,
07:35there have been many incidents
07:37of cyber theft and scams
07:39here in the country.
07:40Do we have the capabilities
07:42to catch the people behind this?
07:44Because they continue to be out there.
07:47There are even more.
07:48And until now,
07:49I thought that with the SIM registration,
07:51this problem is still not over.
07:55The problem with cyber attacks
07:58is that the so-called attack surface
08:00is very wide.
08:01What is the concept of attack surface?
08:03The attack surface is the possibility
08:06where you can be accused.
08:08It can be your cellphone,
08:10your laptop,
08:12iPads or tablets,
08:15or servers that are used
08:18by many companies,
08:19even your station.
08:21Everything that can be connected
08:24to the internet,
08:25all devices that can be networked,
08:28all of that can be attacked.
08:30So it's very wide
08:32that we should monitor.
08:34What we really need here
08:36is what we call teamwork.
08:38Not just DICT,
08:40not just NBI,
08:42PNP,
08:43the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
08:45There is also CICC,
08:47the Cyber Crime Investigation
08:49and Coordination Center.
08:51It's good that NICA was added
08:55to our fight against cyber attacks.
08:58There are many agencies
09:00that we should enable
09:02because there are so many ways
09:05and it's very easy for scams
09:09and cyber attacks to spread.
09:13Not just one agency
09:15like DICT.
09:17Do we have a lead
09:19for those behind the deepfake issue
09:22where President Marcos was victimized?
09:24Again, AI has already spread
09:28not just here in our country,
09:30but many AI platforms
09:32are being developed in other countries.
09:35That's why we should have
09:37a regulatory mechanism
09:39administered by a regulatory body
09:41for the entry of AI technologies
09:44and even the monitoring
09:46of AI-produced content
09:48should be expanded.
09:50Because you're right,
09:51if our President himself
09:53can be victimized,
09:55how about our regular countrymen?
10:00What are NICA's steps
10:03to monitor the entry
10:05of weapons in the country?
10:08Through EO54,
10:10one of the things that was built
10:12is the Directorate for Cyber Intelligence
10:15and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction.
10:17Through this directorate,
10:20we had a contribution
10:22in developing a police force
10:25to monitor the entry
10:28of weapons of mass destruction.
10:29We had an extensive
10:32and close partnership
10:34not only with different agencies
10:36here in the Philippines,
10:37but also with other agencies
10:39in the field of controlling
10:43weapons of mass destruction.
10:45Because we don't have
10:47weapons of mass destruction
10:48being developed here in our country.
10:50But it can enter
10:52or it can be an entry point
10:54for the Philippines
10:55for these weapons of mass destruction.
10:57So it's good that we can
11:00monitor and surveillance
11:03these weapons of mass destruction
11:05so that it won't enter
11:07or be deployed here in our country.
11:10Where do these weapons
11:12of mass destruction come from?
11:14How will it be deployed here in the country?
11:16And what are NICA's
11:18response to this?
11:20In the past,
11:21the so-called superpowers
11:23had weapons of mass destruction.
11:25In fact,
11:26the countries that have
11:29what we call nuclear weapons
11:30are all in one hand.
11:31When the USSR,
11:35the so-called Soviet Union,
11:36collapsed,
11:37there was a lot of
11:39concern that
11:41not only nuclear weapons
11:44but also chemical weapons
11:46and biological weapons
11:47might spread.
11:48Now, because of the dispersion
11:50of technology,
11:51there's a possibility
11:53that even terrorist groups
11:55might take control
11:57of these so-called WMDs.
11:59And because these groups are small,
12:03we call them non-state actors,
12:05it's harder to monitor
12:09and surveillance
12:11these so-called WMDs.
12:13That's why it's very important
12:15for us to have partnerships
12:17with organizations
12:19like the International Atomic Energy Agency,
12:23the Organization for the Prevention
12:26of Chemical Weapons,
12:27and other organizations
12:29that monitor and re-regulate
12:32toxins and biological weapons.
12:35Because it's not only those
12:38who develop biological weapons
12:41that we should monitor.
12:42Even those who store
12:44toxins and other diseases
12:48for testing
12:50can be prevented
12:52from these threats.
12:53That's why it's important
12:55that there's security
12:57in the so-called laboratories
12:59that store these
13:01biological agents
13:04that we call.
13:06Viruses.
13:07That's right.
13:08Different viruses,
13:09bacteria,
13:10and other pathogens
13:12that we call.
13:13Are there any other laws
13:17regarding the weapons
13:19of mass destruction?
13:21We're happy because
13:23our legislature is active
13:25in passing two bills.
13:28One is the Chemical Weapons
13:30Prohibition Act.
13:32This will be our national legislation
13:35that will implement
13:37the existing Chemical Weapons Convention.
13:40There's also the
13:44Biological Toxins Weapons Act.
13:47That will be our national instrument
13:51for our national agencies
13:55and our national police
13:58to monitor and regulate
14:02the so-called biological agents
14:05and toxins.
14:06How can we strengthen
14:09our government's capability
14:11to stop the spread
14:13of weapons of mass destruction
14:15in the Philippines?
14:16How high-tech are NICA
14:18and other intelligence agencies
14:19to counter the misuse
14:23of AI?
14:25The role of our agency,
14:28NICA,
14:29is for intelligence gathering
14:31and monitoring.
14:34But the technical capability
14:36of our line agencies,
14:39for example,
14:40when it comes to nuclear security,
14:43our Philippine Nuclear Research Institute
14:46is there.
14:47When it comes to other
14:49radiological devices,
14:52our Food and Drug Administration
14:56is there.
14:57The role of our line agencies
15:01is based on their technical capabilities.
15:04However, NICA is the higher agency
15:08where our police are coordinated
15:11together with agencies,
15:13for example,
15:14the Strategic Trade Management Office,
15:16our Anti-Terrorism Council,
15:19and others.
15:20That's where our so-called
15:22nuclear security policy is formed,
15:24our National Action Plan
15:26for the prevention of these types
15:29of weapons of mass destruction,
15:30and other agencies
15:32that have a view.
15:36Okay.
15:37Please send a message
15:38to our countrymen
15:39from you and NICA.
15:40We would like to thank
15:42the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency
15:44and our President,
15:47Ferdinand Marcos Jr.,
15:49for approving Executive Order 54
15:52to expand the role of NICA
15:55when it comes to cyber security
15:57and weapons of mass destruction.
15:59Not only that,
16:00our President also gave
16:03other responsibilities to NICA
16:07to expand our intelligence
16:11gathering capability
16:13so that we can protect
16:15what we call national security.
16:18Okay.
16:19Thank you very much
16:20for your time,
16:21Francisco Ashley L. Acedillo,
16:22Deputy Director General
16:24for Cyber and Emerging Threats
16:26of National Intelligence Coordinating Agents.
16:28Thank you, sir.
16:29Thank you, sir.
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