Following the knowledge sharing session on information and communications technology (ICT) among the Members of the Supreme Court last week, the Justices of the High Court and the third level courts, trial court judges, as well as select court officials and employees today attended a webinar on Cybersecurity Orientation in the Judiciary.
The Cybersecurity Orientation in the Judiciary is aimed at creating awareness on the best practices, tools, and methods on how the Judiciary—Justices, judges, court officials and employees—can prevent cybercrime attacks and how it can protect its ICT resources.
The Orientation is a most welcome online activity for the Judicary as it gears up for digital shift. It will be greatly beneficial in ensuring that the Court’s ICT resources are protected to enable a swift, continuous and seamless flow of the judicial process needed in the dispensation of justice. This, considering the threat of internal and external cybersecurity hazards that may result in disruptive operational and reputational losses, affecting overall organizational performance.
Among the topics discussed were The Concept of Cybersecurity; The Role of Human Resource in Cybersecurity Campaigns and Initiatives; Security Work Arrangements: The DOs and DONTs of Remote Work Arrangement; Cyber Threats and Attacks; and General Security Protocols. The speakers were IT experts from the Bankers Association of the Philippines who shared their experiences and expertise on the said topics.
In his message, Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo rallied everyone to do their part in protecting the Judiciary’s ICT resources, stressing that it is a shared responsibility of all of us in the Judiciary. The Chief Justice said: “Everyone has an equally significant role to play. Cyber threats are changing quickly, and unknowingly to us, our everyday communications using our computers and gadgets are susceptible to cyber-attacks, and therefore we must be on guard. We will endeavor to continuously empower all of us in the Judiciary—from the Chief Justice down to the rank-and-file personnel—with the requisite knowledge and skillsets to bolster our cyber-resiliency…We are all frontliners in the defense against cyber threats.”
The webinar was organized by the Court’s Office of Administrative Services in coordination with the Management Information Systems Office.
Last June 1, the Supreme Court held a knowledge sharing session on ICT in preparation for its digital shift. Among the subjects discussed then were modern workplace collaboration, Philippine Judiciary 365, multi-factor authentication, password manager, and tips on how to improve cyber hygiene, among others.
Chief Justice Gesmundo has previously underscored the need for technology-driven court processes, it being a part of his twin innovation agenda which also includes the conduct of organizational assessment and review. ###