On track for its commercial launch by March 2021, DITO Telecommunity inaugurated last 09 December 2020 the brain of its operations — the Network and Security Operations Center. No less than National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. graced the momentous event.
“This facility, the brain of the DITO network has given us the opportunity to monitor the health and performance of our network and manage major communications events, as this state-of-the-art facility now gives us situational awareness and a common operational picture of the whole of DITO Telecommunity. In times of major network events or crises, this is where we manage those events. The DITO command center is a demonstration of the maturity of our network operations and our commitment to ensure information security,” according to DITO Chief Administrative Officer, Retired Major General Rodolfo Santiago.
The former AFP Command and General Staff College Commandant stressed the important role the DITO Command Center plays in the future success of the third telecom player. He added that within the NOC is the Security Operations Center (SOC), where qualified officers ensure that the DITO system, the entire network, including soon-to-be subscribers are free from any internal or external security threats.
“Our SOC is headed by patriots, these are men who have served the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the country for many years. In DITO, they continue to stand guard to ensure that fears about security remain unfounded,” said DITO’s CTO.
National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. in his keynote address said, “I am happy to note that there are people that I know in cybersecurity before in the Armed Forces who have been recruited by another cybersecurity guy, a telco guy and they are all manning the Security Operations Center, an all-Filipino cybersecurity team. I saw them all there.”
“I do not need to emphasize time and again but DITO is really a Filipino company in all forms as far as we are concerned. I am happy to be here because in the past when the two other telcos came out, they had no regulations that they went through. You can just imagine what this company, DITO had to go through, a lot of regulations that the two other telcos did not,” the country’s NSA added.
General Esperon was referring to the submission of a cybersecurity plan that passed scrutiny across various government agencies, the DICT, NTC, and the NSA as part of the selection process, among many other security provisions not required from the other telecom companies. In addition, the National Security Adviser cited that DITO has complied with 12 out of the 12 provisions of the National Cyber Security Plan, with the establishment of the DITO NOC and SOC as item number 12 on the list.
General Santiago added, “The NOC and SOC is just one of the inroads we have made in the DITO roll-out the past few months. We have recently announced that we now have over 1,900 towers, laid out more than 12,000 kilometers of fiber, have successfully tested our 5G capabilities, and are now in the process of undergoing a friendly user test to ensure that come March 2021, we are ready.”
“We have often mentioned in our statements the desire of DITO to use leapfrog technology to bring faster, more affordable connectivity to the Filipino people. And today, with the inauguration of our NOC and SOC, as well as the other milestones we have hit, again, bring us one step closer to be of true service to the country,” said General Santiago in closing.