Hundreds gather to champion behavioral-based cybersecurity in the Philippines

FORUM 1, the flagship event of the I AM SECURE 2025 cybersecurity awareness series, marked a powerful start with the successful execution of its hybrid event  held at Makati Diamond Residences. Centered on the theme, “Priming for Cyber Defense: The Consummate Strategy,” the event gathered hundreds of cybersecurity professionals, experts, and industry leaders to explore cognitive used case strategies for cyber defense.

In his welcome address, ISOG President Chito Jacinto emphasized the forum’s growth since its 2023 debut at the same venue. “It’s inspiring to return to this venue where our journey began. From a single ballroom to an entire floor — this growth reflects the strength of our cybersecurity community. Our new direction on cognitive priming empowers individuals to instinctively recognize and respond to threats. ISOG remains steadfast in building a cyber-ready Philippines.”

ISOG Vice-President and Security Bank CISO Alvin Punsalan delivered a strategic road map for national cyber defense. “To prime our defenses, we must strengthen cross-sector collaboration, adopt a Zero Trust mindset, and mobilize our cybersecurity community. Through I AM SECURE, we protect, we lead, and we inspire. Together, we secure our nation’s digital future.”

Keynote speaker Assistant Secretary Angelica I. Sarmiento of the Department of Finance set the tone with her talk, “Increasing Cybersecurity Defenses in Financial Institutions in the Era of AI,” emphasizing proactive policies and innovation in safeguarding critical sectors.

Thought Leadership in Focus: Two high-impact panel discussions anchored the day’s agenda, moderated by Christine Kempeneers, Head of Governance and Risk at Maplecrest Group and a 2024 ISOG Cybersecurity Excellence Awardee.

Panel 1: “The Role of Psychological Priming in Cybersecurity Awareness Programs” featured Titanium sponsors as panelist who explored how behavioral science enhances user training and resilience.

Panel 2: “Building a Cybersecurity Culture Through Priming Techniques” featured Platinum sponsors and special guest Edison as panelist. The discussion focused on embedding behavioral strategies into organizational culture.

Distinguished Speakers and Awardees

Among the esteemed speakers and panelists were recipients of the ISOG 2024 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards, including: Edison Dungo, Director for Information Technology, Manila Doctors Hospital; Lt. Col. Rodrigo F. Quinto, Deputy Director, Command and Control Center, Training Command, Philippine Army, Armed Forces of the Philippines; and Robert Paguia, Division Chief and Data Protection Officer, Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center.

The event also welcomed insights from Cloud Security Alliance — Philippine Chapter President Gonz Gonzales, representing one of I AM SECURE’s key alliances for 2025.

Sponsors Showcase Innovation and Collaboration

Titanium Sponsors: F5’ Country Systems Engineer (via Westcon) — Perry Ortanez, (NMI) — Jed Kenley Chua, CISO of Asia United Bank, Rapid7 — Irish Ann Talaid, Solution Manager and Pre-Sales of Trends and Technologies, Arista’s Director and  Customer Engineering, APJ (via Netsec) — Anup Changaroth, Qualys’s Security Solutions Architect — Nirav Kamdar, Fortinet’s Systems Engineer (via Netsec & VST-ECS) — Philip Cagunot

Platinum Sponsors: Forcepoint’s Security Consultant Cyril Villanueva, Zscaler’s Senior Sales Engineer (via Westcon) — Bala Prasad Choubey, KnowBe4’s Vice-President of APJ David Bochsler, Palo Alto Networks’s Solutions Consultant (via Westcon) — Jermaine Flores

Gold Sponsor: SecurityScorecard’s Senior Manager and Solutions Architect, APAC (via Netsec) — Han Yang Lau

Silver Sponsors: Sangfor’ Product Marketing Director, (via WSI) — William Phuah, Gigamon & ExtraHop’s Country Manager and Country Director of Singapore and Asia, Jennifer Tan, and June Lim

Additional highlights the forum also featured:

Launch of the official I AM SECURE social media and website, a digital hub for event cybersecurity updates, speed networking, interactive raffles, and a festive closing ceremony with a grand draw.

Media partners were BusinessWorld, DWDD AFP Radio, DIGI.PH, and Tech Travel Monitor.

Event curation by XMS, long-time partner of ISOG for I AM SECURE driven events

What’s Next? The momentum continues with Forum 2, scheduled for Aug. 7, 2025, again at Makati Diamond Residences. The next wave of stakeholders includes Trends and Technologies, Sophos, Cloudflare, Trend Micro, Human Managed, Infoblox, Menlo Security, and Arcon, among other key players.

Watch the recap video here:

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