Manila, Philippines [13 July 2020] – ePLDT Inc., the country’s leading enabler of digital solutions, officially becomes the first and only Philippine organizational member of global leader in incident response Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST)—strengthening its cyber security capabilities and enabling it to respond better to security incidents

FIRST is the premier organization and recognized global leader in incident response. ePLDT Cyber Security became a certified FIRST member in February after undergoing a rigorous process of application, including sponsorship from existing members, site visits to ePLDT’s Security Operations Center (SOC) for the review of its cyber threat response capabilities, and board approval.

ePLDT’s FIRST membership improves and augments its existing Cyber Security capabilities to respond to cyberattacks. More so, being a FIRST member enables ePLDT to share knowledge among similar cyber security organizations around the world, boosting collaboration and improving communication with their security teams, including collecting feedback, exchanging ideas and sharing best practices. In the same way, ePLDT will also be sharing its own experiences in dealing with threats in the Philippine context.

“We at ePLDT are proud to become the first and only organization in the Philippines to be part of such a prestigious global organization. This is a testament to our unwavering commitment to improve our capabilities and in turn support our customers,” says Jovy Hernandez, ePLDT President & CEO and SVP & Head of PLDT and Smart Enterprise Business Groups. “By expanding our cyber security capabilities and network, we are better able to safeguard organizations against today’s increasing cyber threats.”

ePLDT delivers best-in-class Cyber Security services and solutions that allow local businesses to redefine their cyber defenses against a wide range of cyber threats. With its official affiliation with FIRST, ePLDT stays up-to-date with the latest cyber security news and use cases affecting enterprises—enabling them to effectively prepare customers for possible incidents.

Angel Redoble, First Vice President & Chief Information Security Officer of ePLDT Group, PLDT Group & SMART, adds that “our FIRST membership greatly scales up ePLDT’s expertise and capabilities in Cyber Security. This bolsters our portfolio and strengthens ePLDT’s Security Operations Center in monitoring and responding to cyber threats, allowing our customers to get the best cyber security service in the country.”

Redoble also underlined that joining hands with FIRST will also elevate both the ePLDT and PLDT Group’s security practices—allowing them to pioneer the use of global best practices within their organization.

FIRST brings together a variety of computer security incident response teams from government, commercial, and educational organizations. It aims to foster cooperation and coordination in incident prevention, to stimulate rapid reaction to incidents, and to promote information sharing among members and the community at large.

For more information about ePLDT’s Cyber Security, visit www.epldt.com.