Converge ICT announced that, as of January 2023, they were able to block around 350,000 websites and URLs that contain illicit content, primarily those that have imagery of online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC).
The company sure is hard at work to keep its users safe as this year’s numbers doubled last year’s. In fact, the number of sites Converge ICT blocked in 2022 is already 150% higher compared to the 100,000 sites blocked in 2021.
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“In the face of a marked increase in the number of URLs containing OSAEC encountered in 2022, Converge goes beyond to protect our customers and children by leveraging on cutting edge cyber defense tools and growing our partnerships to stop the spread of these materials online,” said Paulo Martin Santos, Converge Chief Network Transformation Officer.
This move will help its nearly two million end-to-end fiber users safe from illicit content from the internet.
What’s more, a whopping 2.1 billion requests to these websites were denied during the same period. That’s a massive increase from the 144 million denied requests from the year before.
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“The rising number of requests to these sites is alarming to us. Enforcement agencies can count on our ready assistance to crack down on this on an operational level. As an internet service provider, we will continue to do our work in combating OSAEC and ensure our network is not taken advantage of by cybercriminals,” said Dennis Anthony Uy, Converge CEO.
Other than displaying OSAEC, the blocked website is also related to other types of cybercrime like phishing/banking, terrorism, voyeurism, and illegal online gambling.
The company will also hold a series of webinars on protecting children’s welfare online this February, which is considered Safer Internet Month.