Fri, Jun 30, 2023 page1

• Cybersecurity priority for US: AIT head

  ‘KEY MEASURES’: It is critical that Taiwan and the US work together to bolster their critical networks in the face of constantly evolving threats, Sandra Oudkirk said

  • By Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporter
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  The US has taken measures to build a more reliable supply chain through information security cooperation with like-minded partners such as Taiwan, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Sandra Oudkirk said yesterday.

  “The Biden-Harris administration is taking key measures to prioritize and elevate cybersecurity within the United States and with our like-minded partners, including Taiwan,” Oudkirk said, referring to US President Joe Biden and US Vice President Kamala Harris.

  She made the remarks at the Taiwan-US Financial Cybersecurity Summit held by the AIT and the Taiwan Academy of Banking and Finance in Taipei.

  

  American Institute in Taiwan Director Sandra Oudkirk speaks at the Taiwan-US Financial Cybersecurity Summit in Taipei yesterday.

  Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times

  “Cybersecurity is a shared challenge and handling it will require a shared approach,” she said, adding that the US Department of the Treasury and Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) have been working together on the issue, and “already they have accomplished so much.”

  Several Treasury officials are in Taiwan to share the US’ experiences at the summit, she said.

  Oudkirk also said that the US Department of Commerce is planning a cybersecurity trade mission to Taiwan in September, during which the two sides would follow up on the discussions.

  

  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Wednesday, June 28, 2023.

  Photo: AP

  As the tactics, techniques and procedures of cyberattacks are constantly evolving, “it is critical that we work together as partners to learn from each other and to bolster our critical networks,” she said.

  “Here in Taiwan, I have made cybersecurity a key focus of AIT engagement. I am proud of the work we have done together so far,” she said, citing such examples as the Global Cooperation and Training Framework workshops, the Cyber Offensive and Defensive Exercise, and the US-Taiwan Technology, Trade and Investment Collaboration.

  President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who addressed the summit after Oudkirk, said that she has been underlining the concept “cybersecurity is national security” since she took office.

  Information security threats are inevitable challenges Taiwan has to face while promoting digital transformation, she said, adding that the identification, assessment and control of information security risks require cooperation among industries.

  The government has been improving every aspect of information security protection, including by establishing the Ministry of Digital Affairs in August last year and the National Institute of Cyber Security in February, Tsai said.

  It also issued new action guidelines last month to fight online fraud, she said.

  The FSC in 2020 introduced the Financial Cyber Security Action Plan and updated it last year to improve resilience to information security breaches, Tsai said.

  The Legislative Yuan last month passed amendments to the Banking Act (銀行法), the Securities and Exchange Act (證券交易法) and the Futures Trading Act (期貨交易法) to boost the protection of key financial infrastructure, she said.

  On international cooperation, the Financial Information Sharing and Analysis Center has been working with the US since 2019 to share intelligence on information security, Tsai said.

  The center joined the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams in January last year, after which it has signed memorandums of understanding with financial security agencies in many countries, she said.

  In other news, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday reiterated that the US continues to be guided by the “one China” policy, based on the Three Joint Communiques, the Taiwan Relations Act and the “six assurances.”

  “That hasn’t changed and that won’t change,” he said during a conversation with Council on Foreign Relations president Richard Haass.

  “Under the Taiwan Relations Act we’ve had a longstanding policy of making sure that we could do what’s necessary to help Taiwan defend itself,” he said.

  “That policy and the sort of rheostat on it also depends a lot on what Beijing is doing or not doing, and that was designed in from the get-go, including in the communiques,” he added.

  Additional reporting by staff writer
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