Kaspersky Lab eyes Manila office

SIEM REAP, Cambodia — Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab AO is planning to put up an office in the Philippines, in line with plans to expand its footprint in the country.

According to the firm's managing director for Asia Pacific Stephan Neumeier, the next step for the company is to put up an office in Manila which will be led by two individuals hired earlier this year.

"The next natural step in order to order to support and maintain this business is an office and legal entity. It has to be in Manila," he told GMA News Online.

Kaspersky earlier this year appointed Eunice Quilantang as a pre-sales engineer, and Mary Grace Villegas as a territory manager.

"We only have two people at the moment in Manila. We have a very strong partner network underneath our distributors but currently no office, so the first office that we are going to open is most likely in Manila," said Neumeier.

While Neumeier did not give out a timeline and an initial estimate on the investment needed for the expansion in the Philippines, he said this is driven by optimism in the market.

"[As] part of the Southeast Asia region—which is currently the number two region within Asia Pacific—from a revenue point of view, the Philippines is growing significantly for us," he explained.

Aside from putting up an office in the Philippines, Neumeier said the company is also looking at teaming up with local universities to conduct cybersecurity awareness campaigns.

"I think we also have to contribute there in order to educate awareness, educate the kids on the school on cybersecurity threats as well as how to protect themselves against potential threats," he said.

"We go actively into the schools, educating the students, young students, [in the] basics of cybersecurity. I think that's something also we should do in the Philippines going forward," he elaborated.

The campaign has already been implemented in countries such as Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore, and Neumeier said the Philippines is one of the next countries.

"Philippines, definitely, is on our radar and we need to look into that, but it requires resources to do that," he said. — BM, GMA News