The Philippine military is exploring enlisting “cyber warriors” to safeguard its online networks against cyberattacks.
Concurrently, the military is elevating its Cyber Security Group to the status of a Cyber Security Command, as revealed by Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief General Romeo Brawner Jr.
Brawner explained during an interview regarding the recruitment of cyber warriors that there is a need to streamline the recruitment process.
“This time, we will recruit cyber warriors,” Brawner stated. “We will be looking for talented, skilled individuals.. They might not be competent to pass the regular recruitment procedures and requirement, so we are relaxing them (requirements) a bit just like in other countries.”
Brawner mentioned that this appears to be a prevailing trend within various military organizations based on his discussions with counterparts in other countries.
“There is that general realization that these new breed of warriors do not necessarily have to be muscled, strong. What we need are individuals who are intelligent, very skillful in the cyber domain,” he said.
Additionally, Brawner pointed out that the transition of the AFP’s Cyber Security Group into a Cyber Security Command would entail acquiring additional capabilities, personnel, and equipment.
Philippine military to recruit ‘cyber warriors’ for online defense
“With the increased threats that we are facing and the importance of the cyber domain as a new domain in warfare, we thought of coming up with these changes like the development of the Cyber Command,” he said.
The military chief indicated that the plan is currently under evaluation and would require approval from President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. because it involves modifying some aspects within the Armed Forces.
Brawner mentioned that they anticipate completing the study within the year. He also noted that the AFP’s cyber system was last successfully breached two years ago and that numerous attempts have been to hack their system since that time.
“We experience this almost every day,” he said “They’re trying to penetrate our networks, but we are happy to note that so far, they are not successful.”
“We believe that some of the attacks are foreign, some of them are local,” Brawner said.
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