Trend Micro’s DECODE 2022: Detect & Respond sees record 2200 registered

Country’s largest cybersecurity conference brought together industry professionals from the Philippines and around the world to tackle online security trends and threat landscapes

Leading cybersecurity services company Trend Micro recently hosted its annual cybersecurity conference online entitled DECODE 2022: Detect & Respond which drew an audience of over 2,200 participants, its largest yet since its launch in 2017.

Held last November 28 to 29, 2022, the free cybersecurity conference featured esteemed speakers who came well-equipped with years of experience in their respective fields, united by the goal of spreading awareness and empowering Filipino cybersecurity professionals. This year’s theme, Detect & Respond, revolved around key processes in identifying and addressing  cyberthreats and attacks across various sectors in the field from law enforcement and mobile payment platforms, to popular games such as Genshin Impact.

The conference saw six keynote sessions led by Jay Yaneza, Trend Micro’s Director of Global Operations, Charmaine Valmonte of Aboitiz Group, Shane Cross of INTERPOL’s Cybercrime Threat Response Sub-Directorate, FBI Intelligence Assistant Legal Attache (ALAT) assigned to the US Embassy Manila Lauren Seawright, Anton Bonifacio of Globe Group Philippines, and Senior Manager of the Forward-Looking Threat Research team of Trend Micro Ryan Flores.

“As hackers and scammers are now utilizing more sophisticated methods to access private information and data, cybersecurity awareness remains an urgent area of concern across various organizations, including the government.

It is with efforts such as DECODE that we are able to introduce and reinforce the significance of security in this digital age,” shared Ryan Flores, Senior Manager of Forward-Looking Threat Research at Trend Micro.

Participants were also provided with insights into what can be anticipated in the cybersecurity landscape this coming 2023. Discussions from over 40 sessions covered topics that ranged from the interestingly similar setup cyber-criminal enterprises have with regular businesses – from start-up, mid-level, and large level – mirroring a legitimate company, to various case studies. Speakers also shared techniques for clustering complex data analysis, discussed different strategies used by Trend Micro itself, and discussed their personal experiences with trending online scams, malware, new phishing techniques, and even the potential dangers hiding behind captchas.

As part of Trend Micro’s advocacy of promoting diversity in the cybersecurity workforce and uplifting women in tech and IT specifically, participants also got to hear from Luna Javier, Creative Director and Co-Founder of Altitude Games, and Myrtle Ann Ramos, Founder and CEO of Block Tides as guest speakers for the Get IT Girl! segment of the conference. The two discussed their experiences in the industry following the theme “Women in Tech: Navigating the Metaverse” and shared a message of encouragement for the audience.

This year’s conference saw 1000 more participants than the record 1200 from DECODE 2021, and over 800 student participants. Students in attendance were also treated to a session specifically for them, led by Erwin Dusojan, Trend Micro’s Senior Threat Researcher.

“We hope that, with DECODE 2022, we are able to once again showcase how Trend Micro is truly engineered to do good with our consistent efforts to bring together and empower the local cybersecurity community,” added Flores

For those who missed it or would like to revisit the conference, sessions from DECODE 2022: Detect & Respond can still be accessed by registering for an account at https://decodeph.com. The videos will be available on-demand until December 01, 2023.