The Department of Information and Communications Technology’s anti-cybercrime unit has harnessed AI (artificial intelligence) to power its hotline for cyberhacking complaints.
The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) said it was launching its digital assistant – the Chatbot CYRI chatbot – to ensure the continued gathering of cybercrime complaints round-the clock, any day of the week, right in time for this year’s long Lenten break.
The CICC said that the CYRI chatbot will be open even this coming Holy Thursday and Good Friday.
The first syllable CY was taken from the word CYBER while RI was taken from the word CRIME. In Greek, the name CYRI means powerful, perfectionist or capable, the CICC said.
CICC executive director Alexander Ramos said they hoped that CYRI will help boost the agency’s capability in fighting cybercrimes.
“Through CYRI, we can immediately get complaints and concerns related to cybercrimes, data privacy and SIM registration,” he said. “Our agents on duty can immediately advise or act on a complaint 24/7.”
Complainants can chat with CYRI either in English or Filipino. Other regional languages such as Cebuano and Ilocano will also be introduced soon.
“People can soon choose the language that they understand and they can relate with and feel more confident in answering the questions,” Ramos said.
The CICC assured that there was no danger of case or identity leaks of complainants as the CYRI chatbot was covered by their privacy policy.
The chatbot is accessible via the CICC Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CICCgovph.
Those who prefer to talk directly with agents can call the Inter-Agency Response Center hotline 1326, which is also open 24 hours daily, even during the Holy Week.