The Executive Yuan yesterday unveiled guidelines asking central and local government agencies to tally in-use information and communications technology devices that could pose a risk to the nation’s information security and disconnect any potentially hazardous devices from government networks.
The check should be completed within three months based on assessments of the risks the devices could pose to the government’s operations and social security, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka told a news conference in Taipei.
Any device deemed to pose an information security risk whose life span has expired should be replaced and disposed of before the end of this fiscal year, while a timetable for elimination should be set for devices that have not reached the end of their lives, she said.
Photo: CNA
The Guidelines Restricting the Use of Products Threatening Information and Communication Safety went into effect on Thursday afternoon after they were signed by Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), Kolas said.
They apply to government agencies, state-run enterprises and science parks whose work is related to eight categories of key infrastructure: water, energy, communications, transportation, finance, science parks, government agencies and emergency medical services, she said.
Devices that are to be regulated include servers, webcams, drones, cloud-based applications, backbone networks, software and antivirus software, as well as systems whose development has been contracted out, she added.
As guidelines are a type of lower-ranking law, they do not include any punishments for local governments that fail to comply, Kolas said, adding that the Executive Yuan could only encourage local administrations to adhere to the guidelines.
However, relevant agencies are compiling a list of information and communications technology device manufacturers that would be banned from government use, Kolas said.
They are also considering introducing enforcement rules to complement the list, meaning that there would be consequences — for example, administrative fines or lawsuits — for local governments that procure products made by companies on the list, she said.
The list would be published in three months at the earliest, she added.
The Executive Yuan originally targeted only products made by Chinese companies, but later widened the scope to include all products manufactured overseas that could threaten the nation’s information security, Kolas said.
Also being deliberated is whether the central government should introduce a total ban on devices manufactured in China, or only those made by Chinese information and communications technology companies, she said.
Brands that are under review and could make the list include ZTE Corp (中興通訊), Lenovo Group (聯想) and Hikvision Digital Technology Co (海康威視), an official familiar with the matter said.
Asked whether the ban should also be followed by private companies whose work or services involve the eight categories of key infrastructure, Kolas said that they and their governing agencies should work out an agreement.
For example, the National Communications Commission should discuss the issue with privately run telecoms, such as Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大), as should science park administration offices with firms in the parks, she said.
MILITARY BOOST: The procurement was planned after Washington recommended that Taiwan increase its stock of air defense missiles, a defense official said yesterday Taiwan is planning to order an additional four PAC-3 MSE systems and up to 500 missiles in response to an increasing number of missile sites on China’s east coast, a defense official said yesterday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the proposed order would be placed using the defense procurement special budget, adding that about NT$1 trillion (US$32,88 billion) has been allocated for the budget. The proposed acquisition would include launchers, missiles, and a lower tier air and missile defense radar system, they said The procurement was planned after the US military recommended that Taiwan increase
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
RSS