‘Cybercrime in RP is worse than you think,’ -- IT lawyer

By Alexander Villafania, INQ7.net

Despite Republic Act 8792 or the E-Commerce Act supposed protection against digital crime in the Philippines, the degree of cybercrime in the country seems to be worse than reported by the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), says a top IT lawyer.

Atty. Ivan Uy, former director of the Supreme Court’s Management Information Systems office, said there are many cases of hacking even among the big industries in the country. A large number of these incidents were perpetrated from within a company by disgruntled current or former employees.

Company owners also fail to prosecute those caught hacking from lack of capability to find evidence. Those caught are often simply discharged from the company and the owners are left to conceal the damage done to avoid creating panic among customers and business partners.
Uy said major enterprises and some banks have fallen victim to techno-savvy employees who manage to funnel money elsewhere.

“I don’t blame them if they don’t report it to the PNP or NBI because it is humiliating if customers find out their lack of security measurements. But then, it is unawareness that is still the major stumbling block against hacking,” Uy added.

He also fears that this trend could worsen as hackers find it easier to conduct their modus operandi without fear of going to jail. “These hackers get emboldened even more and they can easily find victims,” he said.

Uy, recently retired from 14 years of service at the SC MIS, is currently the Philippine Judicial Academy ‘s technology director. He has also gone into private practice and is organizing some IT law practitioners to provide IT security consultations to corporate clients.