President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday approved the National Security Council’s first-ever National Information Security Strategic Report outlining a national strategic response to protect government agencies and the private sector against cyberattacks.
Taiwan’s unique political and economic position has resulted in an adverse environment for information security, in which cyberattacks and data theft by other actors is a frequent occurrence, Tsai wrote in the report’s preface.
Defending the nation’s data is necessary for sustaining public trust in government, the nation’s continued economic development and national interests, she wrote.
The president said that since taking office, her administration has approached information security as an inherent component of national security and has sought to establish an overall cyberstrategy.
The nation’s information security strategy will be governed by the principle of “forward deployment and prepositioned forces,” the report said.
Cyberattacks against the nation have over the past few years increasingly been aimed at high-level targets, including the Presidential Office, major agencies of the central and local governments, the nation’s data infrastructure and key sectors of industry, it said.
In response, the government must consider information security a national security concern, improve the protection of information, train experts with relevant skills and encourage self-sufficiency in the information security sector, it added.
To develop self-sufficient information security capabilities, the government is to create a single service window for the nation’s information technology businesses and promote a common Taiwanese brand, the report said.
Internationally, the government should integrate and leverage diplomatic resources; promote the hosting of or participation in information technology expos; attract capital investment or technological assistance from foreign states; and facilitate marketing and sales, it said.
The nation faces threats such as state-sponsored cyberattacks conducted for the attainment of state, defense and technological secrets; criminal groups targeting financial services or individuals for pecuniary gain; ideologues taking control of public information Web pages for propaganda; and terror organizations using the Internet for propaganda, recruiting and mobilization, it added.
Additional reporting by Lee Hsin-fang
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