PH, Canada boost cyberdefense cooperation

The Philippines and Canada have reaffirmed their commitment to boost cyberdefense cooperation during a bilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the Digital Defense Symposium 2025 in Singapore, the Department of National Defense (DND) said on Friday. DND Office for Information Security Chief Atty. Odessa Rossilyz Magisa met with the director of domains and technology policy of Canada’s Department of National Defense Hani Nasser, on July 22 to discuss potential areas of collaboration. Among the topics discussed were capacity-building and information-sharing programs to address common cybersecurity threats, according to the DND. The meeting builds on the two countries’ expanding defense partnership under the Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation signed in January 2024. The relationship was further strengthened by the conclusion of negotiations on the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement in March and the bilateral Cyber Working Group meeting held in the Philippines earlier this month. —GABRYELLE DUMALAG