The central and local governments are to work together to tackle increasingly complex cyberattacks, Vice Premier Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said in Taipei yesterday at an annual meeting of the nation’s information security officials.
Cyberattacks are complicated and varied, and the difficulty of defending against them is gradually increasing, said Chen, who is also the Executive Yuan’s chief information security officer.
He said that he hopes the central and local governments would work together to strengthen laws and regional joint defenses against cyberattacks, cultivate information security talent and develop the information security industry.
Photo: Lee Hsin-fang, Taipei Times
As the scale of information security start-ups in Taiwan is too small, the government is encouraging them to integrate, he added.
The government looks forward to national-level cooperation or the creation of a platform for integrating different systems to liaise with foreign associations or private companies, Chen said, adding that the government’s overseas offices could provide administrative support.
Such actions would have synergistic effects, he said.
Under the Information and Communication Security Management Act (資通安全管理法), which went into effect on Jan. 1, all government agencies are required to appoint a chief information security officer responsible for managing information security.
Calling Taiwan’s political situation unique, Chen said that domestic and foreign attacks against information security are unending.
He said that he hopes the nation’s various agencies would continue to enforce the act and protect information security in line with President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) policy that “information security equals national security.”
Government agencies are working to create a safe and reliable digital vision for the nation, the Department of Cyber Security said.
For the meeting, the department said that it gathered the chief information security officers and information technology managers of government agencies at the national and local levels to provide them with the latest developments and threats, the government’s annual focus in terms of information security, and upcoming tasks that the agencies should perform.
Chen yesterday also met with start-ups in the field and visited the Cyber Taiwan Pavilion at the Taipei International Convention Center — one of two venues of the Taiwan Cyber Security Summit, which ends today.
Government agencies should assist the domestic information security industry, Chen said, adding that he believes the industry has the potential to expand internationally.
The government deeply values the question of how to support information security start-ups and is considering creating opportunities for them through the Government Procurement Act (政府採購法) or other regulations, he said.
As many regulations in the Government Procurement Act favor the lowest tender and the procurement of information security services is often attached to the procurement of hardware or software, the current scheme is disadvantageous for start-ups, which has led to inadequate implementation of information security, he added.
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