CICC seeks P1-B budget for threat detector on dark web, social media

The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordination Center (CICC) is seeking a P1-billion budget to procure an all-in-one tool to scan the dark web and scrub social media for potential risks to national security.

- By ELIJAH FELICE ROSALES

CICC has received support from lawmakers to increase its budget by almost P200 million to hire more personnel for its threat monitoring efforts through Hotline 1326.

This places the CICC’s proposed budget for 2026 close to P658 million, with P458 million allocated under the National Expenditure Program (NEP) submitted to Congress.

However, CICC deputy executive director Renato Paraiso said the agency is still hoping to have congressional support for a last hike of P1 billion. The amount will be used to acquire a detection tool that the CICC can rely on to scan both the surface and underworld of the web.

The tool can scrub social media platforms like Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram to find potential threats and resolve them before they can even harm anyone. Paraiso said most risks right now emanate from social media - from fraud attempts to manipulated videos.