The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), in coordination with major telecommunications companies, has announced plans to expedite the phase-out of legacy mobile technologies — specifically 2G and 3G networks — due to their increasing security vulnerabilities.
DICT Secretary Henry Aguda revealed in a press conference that 3G will be fully phased out by the end of this month across all major telcos, including DITO, Globe, and Smart.
The DICT emphasized that older network technologies are particularly susceptible to exploitation through tools like International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) catchers, which are often used in fraud, phishing schemes, and even espionage.
“You’re only as secure as your weakest link. Right now, that weakest link is 2G and 3G,” said Secretary Aguda.
The department noted that some government agencies and mobile point-of-sale (POS) systems still rely on 2G. However, it is now working with institutions such as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to encourage a shift toward more secure and modern network infrastructure.
"Sa mga ibang government agencies, may gumagamit pa ng 2G. So, pagtutulungan namin na i-phase out iyon. Baka sumulat kami to the BSP to encourage them to come up with a mandate to payment providers and banks na huwag nang gumamit ng 2G," said Aguda.
Beyond mobile networks, the DICT is also calling for an accelerated transition to IPv6, the next-generation Internet Protocol. The currently dominant IPv4 system is increasingly viewed as outdated, with limitations in both cybersecurity and scalability.
DICT PROBES ARTA'S PRISM HACKING INCIDENT
The DICT is also ramping up cybersecurity efforts across government platforms.
This includes regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing to detect and address potential weaknesses before systems go live.
One recent example was the temporary breach of the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA)’s Policy Reform, Innovation and Streamlining (PRISM) platform.
In a statement, the DICT said the platform was hacked around 8:57 p.m. on Tuesday, September 16.
DICT confirmed that no confidential information was breached and there were no active users at the time of the incident. Nonetheless, all necessary security reinforcements are being implemented before relaunching it this coming Monday.
"Yung platform ng ARTA is for training on ease of doing business. So at the time that it was compromised, wala namang users on the platform. It's a new one kasi eh," Aguda explained.
"So, kami just to be prudent about it, we're doing a vulnerability assessment and penetration testing. Para lang pag-in-up siya next week eh wala nang issue. So, that's being done now and as I said, it's going to the weekend naman eh, wala naman gagamit. So, expect that [PRISM] to be up and running by Monday," said Aguda.
