NEC to Provide Cyber-Attack Defense Training for Six ASEAN Countries

Wazzup Pilipinas!

NEC Corporation announced that it received an order from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to provided cyber-attack defense for officials from governmental institutions responsible for cyber security in six members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam). The first round of the training is scheduled from February 20 to March 3, 2017.

Damage due to cyber-attacks has recently been spreading globally. Given the increasingly serious damage attributable to such targeted attacks on governmental organizations and critical infrastructure, there is a growing necessity to take measures to improve cyber security capabilities.

This defense training, which will take place in Japan over a three year period, aims to improve incident response, including the early discovery and detection of damage, as well as the implementation of countermeasures to targeted cyber-attacks on ASEAN countries. Training sessions feature lectures on the latest threats and security measures, as well as drills similar to the Cyber Defense Exercise with Recurrence (CYDER), which are practical cyber-attack defense drills that have been conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in Japan since 2013.

These drills will be carried out in environments that simulate targeted attacks on governmental organizations. This provides opportunities for learning how to address cyber-attacks through actual experience with a series of incident-handling processes, such as the discovery and reporting of incidents, the identification, isolation, and analysis of problematic areas, and the confirmation of damage. In addition, opportunities will be provided to tour leading-edge cyber security-related facilities in Japan according to the tour programs of the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) and the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST).

“JICA is proud to be contributing to this collaboration between Japan and ASEAN countries in the reinforcement of cyber security,” said Mr. Juichiro Sasaki, Director General, JICA Tokyo International Center. “We look forward to sharing the latest technology and security information through state-of-the-art practices implemented in this ‘Knowledge Co-Creation Program’ in Japan.”

“The improvement of cyber security plays an important role in NEC’s provision of ‘Solutions for Society,’” said Mr. Kazuhiko Shiraishi, General Manager, National Security Solutions Division, NEC Corporation. “Going forward, we will continue these efforts by providing drills, products and services for cyber defense to a large number of organizations, including governmental institutions and critical infrastructure providers, both in Japan and internationally.”

Grilla Filipino Cuisine Is Now at SM MOA by the Bay

Wazzup Pilipinas!

I’m very adventurous when it comes to my dining preferences. Therefore, I am open to all kinds of dishes - may it be from the many popular restaurants at the malls or food parks with meals inspired from the different regions of the Philippines or from different countries, down to the neighborhood “carinderias” or “turo-turo” with the only exemption being the street foods that are exposed to pollution like dust and smoke.

But when I’m hungry, you won’t find me experimenting on a new kind of dish. I would always find myself eating Filipino comfort foods because I have proven so many times that they will satisfy my cravings for a satisfying meal.

But don’t get me wrong, I love Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and all kinds of foreign dishes, but there is something in Pinoy foods that makes it all fulfilling at every bite. This makes our very own Filipino food the best choice to fill me up at times when I need to grab a quick bite. Nothing come close to our very own.

The same experience was felt at our dining experience at Grilla Filipino Cuisine. It’s not my first time to dine at the said restaurant since I had the opportunity to dine already at a couple of their other branches. The newest branch, located at SM MOA by the Bay, is the third Grilla branch I have visited for a bloggers food tasting event, and once again, they never failed to impress me.

The event was meant to introduce their new dishes, or combination of dishes, as they were also offering combo meals that are great for sharing among the family, colleagues, “barkada” or with fellow bloggers that are foodies by nature.

Catcallers' Days Are Numbered

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros spent the Valentine’s day by filing a bill that seeks to protect women and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) community from harassment in the streets and other public spaces. The proposed measure was filed in response to the growing number of gender-based harassment in public spaces such as the case of a female student from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) who was allegedly groped in a public utility vehicle by a fellow student. The school was accused of victim-shaming after it allegedly sided with the perpetrator.

Hontiveros’ Senate Bill No. 1326 otherwise known as the “Safe Streets and Public Spaces Act of 2017” seeks to penalize gender-based street and public spaces harassment such as catcalling, wolf-whistling, cursing, leering, groping, persistent request for name and contact details and the use of words tending to ridicule on the basis of actual or perceived sex, gender expression, or sexual orientation and identity including sexist, homophobic and transphobic slurs.

According to Hontiveros, the bill seeks to complement the existing Anti-Sexual Harassment Law. “I filed the bill 23 years since the passage of the Anti-Sexual Harassment Law which is limited to the workplace and to superior-subordinate relationships”, she said. Hontiveros explained that there are still no clear-cut laws that address gender-based street harassment, citing the lack of gender lens for homophobic, transphobic and gender-based unjust vexation in the Revised Penal Code.

The senator also said that the bill responds to women’s insecurity in public spaces. Citing government data, Hontiveros said that in Quezon City alone, 3 in 5 women have experienced street harassment. Meanwhile, the Social Weather Station (SWS) reported that 88% of women aged 18-24 years or almost 9 out of 10 experienced different forms of sexual harassment in the streets. The same SWS report rated men feeling more secure in their neighborhoods than women.