Philippine Cybersecurity Market
The tech-savvy Filipino population with few data protection mechanisms makes the Philippines extremely vulnerable to cyber-attacks and incidents. In 2016, the Philippines Election Commission suffered the biggest data leak in Philippine history, the data breach of 70 million voters. With the upcoming May 2020 national elections, the Philippine government is expected to improve its election measures. In 2019, one study documented that the Philippines could incur economic losses of $3.5 billion due to cybersecurity threats if measures are not improved.
The Covid pandemic has changed the Philippines’ digital landscape. A February 2020 survey declared that 43% of Philippine private companies had increased allocation towards cybersecurity solutions investment. With 86% for anti-malware and antivirus tools, 59% for next-generation firewalls, and 47% are starting to invest in cloud-native security. Due to the continued adoption of cloud storage and solutions, software-defined area network security is gaining market popularity.
The Philippine Government, the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, the financial sector, health, education, and the telecommunications industry are key vertical markets for information technology. There is also growth in e-payment and fintech platforms. It is forecast that the Philippines software and software sales will reach $95 million by 2025.
The National Cybersecurity Plan 2022 of the Philippine Department of Information, Communications, and Technology (DICT) is now on the rollout of cybersecurity infrastructure, including the capability-building program for all the national agencies and local government units. The Philippine Government continues to amplify the 2012 Data Privacy Act, set data protection standards, and recommend that all entities register with its online portal and hire a Data Privacy Officer. The rollout with the allocated budget indicates opportunities for U.S. software and hardware solutions providers.
The U.S. Government has been conducting capacity-building programs in this sector to help Philippine stakeholders understand cybersecurity best practices and solutions. In 2018, The U.S. Trade and Development Agency hosted a group of Philippine government officials on a reverse mission to study cybersecurity in the United States. The U.S. Embassy in the Philippines has a Joint Cybersecurity Working Group of government officials and U.S. cyber firms meeting monthly to discuss and address cyber issues. In June 2021, the embassy hosted 25 national government officials and 17 cities on smart cities cybersecurity risks and challenges training taught by the Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute.
For more information, please contact Mr. John Giray, Commercial Specialist at the U.S. Commercial Service Philippines at John.Giray@trade.gov.