The Philippines’ leading integrated telco network PLDT Inc. (PLDT) and its wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) expand their mission to keep communities safe from digital-aided forms of crime, through the #BeCyberSmart initiative.

As part of their support to the ICT Literacy and Competency Development Bureau (ILCDB) of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) – MIMAROPA (Region 4B), PLDT and Smart this week joined the agency’s training session entitled “Cybercrime: Effective Reputation Management Techniques” organized for the IT officers of local government units (LGUs) in Occidental Mindoro.

Held at the provincial capitol, IT representatives from across Region 4B learned about the potential perils and possibilities that Artificial Intelligence or A.I. presents to Filipinos.

“A.I. should be viewed as a tool, and as such, a human is in control of how the technology is used,” said Elijah Mendoza, Smart Sr. Manager for Digital Communications. “At the end of the day, A.I. is at our disposal and not the other way around.”

The session also touched on very timely topics, such as protecting one’s information and presence online, and free A.I.-powered tools that can help ordinary people detect A.I.-generated stories, scams, images, and videos.

Ian Pagurayan of Smart’s Cyber Security Operations Group (CSOG) Governance Team discussed the ethical considerations in cybersecurity where he emphasized the need for proper policies to help protect user information and data online.

“By being aware and paranoid of cyber-threats, you are the first and last line of defense of the company and your customers,” said Pagurayan.

This training is part of the Digital Transformation Center (DTC) Initiative, a program of the International Telecommunication Union and Cisco being implemented by the DICT in the Philippines, supported by PLDT and Smart as its sole telco partner. Under the partnership, PLDT and Smart are supporting DICT on its digital skills development programs to help strengthen digital capacities of Filipinos, particularly in the underserved communities. Last August, PLDT and Smart Chairman, President, and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan turned over the “DTC On-the-Go” package to DICT Secretary Ivan John Enrile Uy to help bring the digital upskilling trainings to far-flung communities.

PLDT and Smart have been conducting #BeCyberSmart sessions across various communities that are increasingly adopting digital tools, including schools, LGUs, micro-, small-, medium-sized enterprises, cooperatives, special interest groups, among others, since 2019. The #BeCyberSmart program and other efforts to advance cybersecurity awareness are fundamental to the PLDT Group’s much broader effort to elevate the quality of customer experience by protecting them from threats and attacks.