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Elijah Felice Rosales - The Philippine Star
August 9, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Almost four million online credentials from Filipinos were compromised in the first half, raising alarm on the credibility and strength of Philippine cybersecurity, according to a report.
In its 2025 Mid-Year Cyber Threat Landscape Report, Viettel Cyber Security said enterprises in the Philippines sustained nine ransomware attacks between January and June, already matching the total for the whole of 2024.
The country also endured 88 incidents of major breaches during the period, as criminals are becoming more cunning in devising their online attacks.
Viettel Cyber Security said at least 3.7 million user credentials belonging to Filipinos were lost to scammers in the first half. This means Filipinos unknowingly surrendered their sensitive details like passwords to fraudsters.
Between January and June, Viettel Cyber Security said criminals targeted primarily e-commerce and finance apps where Filipinos register financial credentials. These apps were attacked mainly by phishers, who trick victims into revealing their sensitive details by impersonating trustworthy individuals.
There was also a surge in health apps, given that more Filipinos are uploading medical records for telemedicine purposes.
By segment, Viettel Cyber Security said the education sector is most vulnerable to online attacks, as scammers exploit the underfunding of schools for cybersecurity measures.
Education accounted for 18 percent of the major breaches in the first half, while the government came next with 14 percent because of cyber threats troubling state-run portals.
Viettel Cyber Security said the financial sector comprised seven percent, while the rest is divided into the other industries like e-commerce, health, media and manufacturing.
The report identified the rising use of deepfake as a red flag for the cybersecurity space in the Philippines.
Viettel Cyber Security asked enterprises and individuals to adopt a zero trust approach when dealing online. Businesses were also told to back up their critical systems in case they are attacked by ransomware.
Viettel Cyber Security also reminded Filipinos that criminals are always finding ways to circumvent whatever online defenses they have set up, so it is better to be vigilant when going online.
Viettel Cyber Security, a subsidiary of Hanoi-based telco Viettel Telecom, runs a global network of security services in 11 countries through more than 28,000 servers.
