Six in 10 experienced cybersecurity incidents, PSA says

SIX in ten Filipinos who use information and communications technology (ICT) devices experienced cybersecurity incidents in 2024, a survey by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.

“Among the 38.86 million individuals aged 10 years and over who used an ICT device, 62.5% experienced at least one cybersecurity incident in 2024, representing approximately 24.28 million ICT device users,” the PSA said late on Tuesday.

The highest cybersecurity rate was recorded in Mimaropa at 73.6%. It was followed by the Bicol Region (72%), Central Luzon (67%). Meanwhile, Zamboanga Peninsula had the lowest incident rate of 35.7%.

In terms of age groups, the highest incidence rate of 68% was recorded among individuals aged 25 to 34 years old, followed by 35 to 44 years (65.7%) and 55 to 64 years (65.3%).

“By educational attainment, the rate of exposure to cybersecurity was highest for tertiary or higher education (68%), followed by upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary (66.6%),” the PSA said.

“On the other hand, individuals with primary education and lower had the lowest exposure rate to cybersecurity (46.4%),” it added.

Meanwhile, the report showed that short message service fraud was the most prevalent type of cybersecurity incident accounting for 57.1% of victims.

The other incidents include hacking (7.8%), phishing (6.1%), and cyber bullying or cyberlibel (1.1%).

However, the PSA said that 33.4% of individuals aged 10 years and above were aware of cybersecurity and data privacy issues, representing 30.55 million out of the 91.38 million total.

Highest awareness rates were recorded in the National Capital Region at 53.6% and Central Visayas at 43.9%, while the lowest rate was recorded in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao at 6.5%.

“Individuals in urban areas showed higher awareness (42.9%) compared to rural residents (22.7%),” the PSA said.

People who completed tertiary education also recorded the highest awareness rate of 62.6%, compared to the 9.6% of those with only completed primary education or lower.

“Awareness was highest among individuals aged 25 to 34 years at 42.6%, followed by 15 to 24 years at 41.6% and 35 to 44 years at 41.2%,” it said.

“The lowest level of awareness was observed in 75 years and over at 11.3%,” it added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile