Financial companies would be required to strengthen their business continuity plans and must be able to restore their operations within four hours after a disaster, such as cyberattacks, the Financial Supervisory Commission said on Thursday.
The commission unveiled its roadmap for boosting financial firms’ information security in the next four years, saying it is important for companies to offer customers continuous services, Department of Information Management Director-General Tsai Fu-longe (蔡福隆) told a news conference in New Taipei City.
International standards require that financial institutions restore their operations within four hours after a disaster, so the commission would ask the companies to meet those standards first, Tsai said.
However, some companies should be able to recover in less than four hours, such as securities firms, which should immediately process transactions made by their clients, Tsai said.
The commission is therefore considering stricter standards for securities brokers, such as halving the maximum time for restoration to two hours, he said, but added that the time limit has not been finalized.
By contrast, insurance companies are under less pressure, as most deals do not need to be conducted quickly, he said.
“Breaks in information services are among the three main risks for companies, with the other two being cyberattacks and leakage of personal data, according to a World Economic Forum report,” FSC Deputy Chairman Jean Chiu (邱淑貞) said.
The commission would also demand that the 28 big financial firms — 17 banks and eight insurance companies — with assets of NT$1 trillion (US$33.88 billion) and three securities companies with paid-in capital of NT$20 billion, set up independent departments of information security by the end of next year, Tsai said.
The 28 firms would have to appoint vice presidents to serve as chief information security officers to oversee information protection, Tsai said.
The regulator would incentivize companies to strengthen their information security by offering rewards, such as cuts in the premium rates of deposit insurance or privileges in launching new products, Chiu said.
The commission is also considering establishing an information protection center similar to the US’ Sheltered Harbor initiative to save companies’ data in the event of a catastrophic event that destroys companies’ backup systems, Chiu said.
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