Philippines Recruits Civilian Tech Talent To Fend Off Cyber Attacks

The Philippine Army is recruiting civilian hackers to bolster its cybersecurity defenses amid rising digital threats from China, army officials said. The 120-member Cyber Battalion has hired 70 tech experts in their 20s and 30s since 2020, offering them military training and the opportunity to serve the nation despite lower wages than private sector jobs.

The initiative follows cyber attacks on Philippine government servers, including those of the Coast Guard and President Marcos Jr., which authorities traced to China. Beijing denies involvement. The Philippines ranks among the countries most vulnerable to cyber threats, with recent attacks compromising millions of citizens' data through state and private institutions.

China v. The Philippines

[fjo3]

Besides cyber attacks, China and The Philippines are already locked in what is *just* short of open warfare. As usual, China is making ridiculous, international law-breaking claims about the areas of the ocean it controls. Filipino fishermen are fighting back. It's outright melee combat - no guns, much like the occasional pitched battles that break out between India and China on their shared border. The Chinese navy also uses water cannons, and though that might sound fun - it is not. My Filipina wife is te