More than 2 million cyberattacks, mostly by Chinese hackers using “zombie computers” to facilitate infections and target Internet of Things (IoT) equipment, were conducted in the first quarter of this year, cybersecurity firm Fortinet said on Tuesday in its report on Taiwan.
The growth of “smart” appliances, an explosion in the number of edge devices and a work-from-home trend amid the COVID-19 pandemic have made Taiwan a high-profile target for hackers, the report said.
Gaps in cybersecurity proficiency and knowledge are the main means by which hackers gain access IoT equipment, it said.
Photo: Reuters
FortiGuard Research and Development Center Taiwan regional director Lin Le (林樂) said that the greatest cybersecurity trend so far this year has been a rise in ransomware attacks targeting global supply chain infrastructure.
This trend means that zero-trust frameworks need to be redefined, Lin said.
A zero-trust framework is a computer system that eschews implicit levels of trust that are often taken for granted — for example employees who have been with a company for a long time having greater access — favoring no trust of devices or users in any situation.
Fortinet said that it is to collaborate with the Executive Yuan’s Develop Cybersecurity Industry program as it continues to bolster cybersecurity of supply chains and foster local talent in information security.
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