According to Viettel Cyber Security's (VCS) latest Cyber Threat Landscape Report, the Philippines recorded 10,913 phishing attacks and 83 data breach incidents exposing 85.9 million records from July to September.
The findings highlight the growing vulnerability of businesses and public institutions as cybercriminals increasingly exploit stolen credentials, phishing schemes and ransomware to access sensitive information.
Phishing attacks increased 43 percent year-on-year, with banking, financial services and insurance accounting for 29 percent of incidents. Government impersonation represented 24 percent, while social media-related threats accounted for 16 percent.
Compromised credentials more than doubled from 4.3 million in the third quarter of 2025, bringing the year-to-date total to over 28.3 million.
Ransomware incidents also climbed from five to 19, primarily affecting transportation and logistics, manufacturing, hospitality, financial services and healthcare.
32 million records exposed
Stolen credentials have become an increasingly accessible entry point for cybercriminals, potentially allowing unauthorized access to corporate networks without exploiting traditional security vulnerabilities.
“Attackers today don’t need to break in when they can simply log in. With more than nine million Philippine credentials compromised in a single quarter, a stolen password has become one of the cheapest ways into a company’s network. The real question for business leaders is no longer whether their accounts have been exposed, but whether they would notice when someone else starts using them,” Viettel Cyber Security country manager Thomas Luu said in a press statement.
The report identified breaches involving six online lending platforms that exposed approximately 32 million records, alongside a transportation-sector incident affecting 16 million records.
Strengthen account protection
As organizations prepare for 2027, VCS urged businesses to strengthen account protection, continuously monitor threats, update software, maintain regular backups and improve incident response capabilities.
The cybersecurity firm also emphasized assessing third-party vulnerabilities and improving employee awareness to reduce exposure to increasingly sophisticated attacks.
VCS warned that cybersecurity must become a regular leadership priority rather than a reactive IT function, particularly as stolen credentials and commercially available hacking tools lower barriers for cybercriminals. —Vanessa Hidalgo | Ed: Corrie S. Narisma
