The government is to propose a legislative amendment to impose heavier fines on private companies found guilty of leaking personal data, Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) said yesterday.
In addition, the government would establish an “independent watch mechanism” for better protection of personal data, Cheng said at an inauguration ceremony in Taipei for the National Institute of Cyber Security (NICS).
The proposed amendments to the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) would increase the fines as soon as possible for personal data leaks by private companies, he said.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Article 48 of the act allows for fines of NT$20,000 to NT$200,000 against companies that fail to prevent theft or disclosure of private data that they collect, or allow it to be compromised.
Cheng’s pledge to increase the penalties came one day after iRent, a Taiwanese vehicle-sharing platform, was fined NT$200,000 by the Directorate-General of Highways for leaking the personal data of about 400,000 people.
The Taipei City Government on Thursday issued a NT$90,000 fine to iRent, which is run by Ho Ing Mobility Service (和雲行動服務), a subsidiary of automotive conglomerate Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車).
Cheng said that the highways authority’s fine was “too light,” and that the public and private sectors need to step up their efforts to improve protections of personal data.
At the ceremony, Minister of Digital Affairs Audrey Tang (唐鳳) also addressed the data protection issue, saying that the NICS would intervene in data leak incidents in the private sector and help companies tighten their cybersecurity systems.
The NICS, a public body established primarily to improve cybersecurity in Taiwan, would also seek to foster talent in that field, and develop advanced technologies and tools to protect the nation’s digital assets, Tang said.
Headed by Ho Chuan-te (何全德), who was previously in charge of cybersecurity at the Presidential Office, the NISC would play a pivotal role in reinforcing Taiwan’s digital environment, Tang said.
The NICS was set up under the Ministry of Digital Affairs in accordance with the Act for the Establishment of the National Institute of Cyber Security (國家資通安全研究院設置條例), which took effect at the start of this year.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who also attended the ceremony, said the establishment of the NICS was part of the government’s efforts to tackle ever-evolving cybersecurity threats from external forces.
“Information security is national security,” Tsai said, adding that the government needs to continue investing in Taiwan’s cybersecurity infrastructure.
RESILIENCE: Deepening bilateral cooperation would extend the peace sustained over the 45 years since the Taiwan Relations Act, Greene said Taiwan-US relations are built on deep economic ties and shared values, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said yesterday, adding that strengthening supply chain security in critical industries, enhancing societal resilience through cooperation and deepening partnerships are key to ensuring peace and stability for Taiwan in the years ahead. Greene made the remarks at the National Security Youth Forum, organized by National Taiwan University’s National Security and Strategy Studies Institution in Taipei. In his address in Mandarin Chinese, Greene said the Taiwan-US relationship is built on deep economic ties and shared interests, and grows stronger through the enduring friendship between
GAINING STEAM: The scheme initially failed to gather much attention, with only 188 cards issued in its first year, but gained popularity amid the COVID-19 pandemic Applications for the Employment Gold Card have increased in the past few years, with the card having been issued to a total of 13,191 people from 101 countries since its introduction in 2018, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. Those who have received the card have included celebrities, such as former NBA star Dwight Howard and Australian-South Korean cheerleader Dahye Lee, the NDC said. The four-in-one Employment Gold Card combines a work permit, resident visa, Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) and re-entry permit. It was first introduced in February 2018 through the Act Governing Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及雇用法),
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday said that it would redesign the written portion of the driver’s license exam to make it more rigorous. “We hope that the exam can assess drivers’ understanding of traffic rules, particularly those who take the driver’s license test for the first time. In the past, drivers only needed to cram a book of test questions to pass the written exam,” Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told a news conference at the Taoyuan Motor Vehicle Office. “In the future, they would not be able to pass the test unless they study traffic regulations
EUROPEAN TARGETS: The planned Munich center would support TSMC’s European customers to design high-performance, energy-efficient chips, an executive said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said that it plans to launch a new research-and-development (R&D) center in Munich, Germany, next quarter to assist customers with chip design. TSMC Europe president Paul de Bot made the announcement during a technology symposium in Amsterdam on Tuesday, the chipmaker said. The new Munich center would be the firm’s first chip designing center in Europe, it said. The chipmaker has set up a major R&D center at its base of operations in Hsinchu and plans to create a new one in the US to provide services for major US customers,
RSS