Joel Dabao l March 17, 2026 l Manila Bulletin
When the phrase “digital assets” appears in the news today, it is usually associated with cryptocurrencies or blockchain technologies.
That is not the subject of this article.
For most organizations, the most valuable digital assets are far more ordinary: payroll records, customer databases, financial documents, contracts, internal communications, and operational data. These are the digital equivalents of the files, records, and ledgers that once defined the enterprise’s memory.
For decades, such assets were protected with visible seriousness. Important documents were kept in locked cabinets or secure rooms. Warehouses holding valuable inventory were guarded, monitored by cameras, and insured against fire or theft. Access to sensitive areas was controlled and logged; regular audits ensured that records and inventories remained intact.
These safeguards were never controversial. They were simply understood as the responsible stewardship of valuable assets.
Over the past decade, however, the location of those assets has fundamentally changed. Records that once sat inside filing cabinets now reside in cloud storage. Processes once documented in logbooks now operate through software platforms. Work itself increasingly takes place in SaaS-enabled environments that are often untethered from a single physical office.
The enterprise has become digital.
In many organizations today, the most important information no longer sits behind a locked door. It exists within databases, cloud platforms, and interconnected applications accessed via laptops, mobile devices, and remote networks. Yet the rigor with which many organizations protect these digital assets often lags behind the standards long applied to physical ones.
Few companies would tolerate an unlocked warehouse or unrestricted access to a records room. Physical inventory is routinely counted and verified; facilities are protected by security personnel and surveillance; insurance coverage is a baseline requirement of management.
In the digital environment, these instincts are often weaker. Access privileges may be loosely managed. Cybersecurity investments are frequently deferred because they appear costly. Cyber insurance—the modern equivalent of fire insurance for information systems—remains far from universal.
This gap reflects a lingering misconception: that digital assets are somehow less tangible, and therefore less vulnerable. In reality, the opposite is often true.
Physical theft typically leaves evidence—a broken lock, a forced door, or missing inventory. A digital compromise, by contrast, can remain undetected for months. Unauthorized access may leave no obvious trace until sensitive data is exposed or operations are disrupted. By that point, the damage extends far beyond the loss of information: customer trust erodes, regulatory consequences follow, and reputational harm can take years to repair.
This issue becomes even more pressing as organizations turn toward artificial intelligence governance. Governments and businesses are beginning to examine how AI systems should be deployed responsibly and how their risks should be managed. Yet artificial intelligence ultimately depends on the data and infrastructure beneath it. If those underlying systems are poorly secured, oversight of the AI layer becomes superficial. Governance cannot begin with the algorithm while ignoring the architecture that feeds it.
Digital transformation has delivered enormous benefits in efficiency and scalability, but it has also shifted the enterprise’s center of gravity. In many industries, a company’s most valuable assets are no longer physical equipment or office space, but the information systems that power operations and decision-making.
Recognizing this reality requires a corresponding shift in governance.
Cybersecurity controls should be treated with the same seriousness as physical security. Access controls for digital systems should be as routine as inventory controls for warehouses. Independent cybersecurity assessments should carry weight comparable to financial audits, and cyber insurance should be as commonplace as coverage against fire or theft.
Digital assets are not abstract concepts; they are the operational and financial backbone of the modern enterprise. Protecting them with the same rigor long applied to physical assets is not merely an IT concern.
It is a matter of sound governance.
***The views expressed herein are his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of his office as well as FINEX. For comments, email joeldabao@mykcat.com. Photo is from Pinterest.