The National Audit Office in its latest report on the central government’s fiscal accounts for last year called out four ministries for failing to adequately safeguard critical infrastructure.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, and the Financial Supervisory Commission failed to fulfill their responsibilities in this regard, the office said in its report.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs is required to protect critical infrastructure for the subdomains of electricity, petroleum, natural gas, water supply, maritime transportation, software parks and industrial zones, the report said.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kun, Taipei Times
In addition, the ministry is responsible for inventorying key assets and facilities under its jurisdiction, compiling lists of potential critical infrastructure and ensuring facility operators complete self-assessment surveys regarding critical infrastructure, it said.
After compiling the completed surveys, the authorities must complete a preliminary assessment and submit it to the Homeland Security Office for further review and approval, the report said.
However, the ministry’s resilience plans for the four subdomains of electricity, petroleum, natural gas and water supply lack appropriate risk assessments and clearly prioritized security protection measures, it added.
Furthermore, during last year’s critical infrastructure review process, some subdomains failed to compile lists of potential critical infrastructure, the report said.
Instead, facility providers independently determined whether infrastructure met criteria, raising concerns that some critical infrastructure was overlooked, it said.
The office said it formally requested the Ministry of Economic Affairs to make improvements.
The report also said that the Ministry of Health and Welfare had not done enough to protect the infrastructure under its jurisdiction.
The ministry has not set up a coordination team with other related agencies or created an adequate security plan, which could weaken the safety of critical systems like hospitals and emergency services, the report said.
The report emphasized that a recent wave of ransomware attacks on hospitals poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s critical infrastructure.
To ensure that medical services remain uninterrupted during emergencies, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has been formally requested to cooperate with the Homeland Security Office’s policy planning, the National Audit Office said.
This includes strengthening emergency preparedness in healthcare sectors through resource stockpiling, regular drills and cross-sector collaboration, it said.
The report had two main criticisms for the Ministry of Transportation and Communications:
First, the ministry has yet to adequately facilitate coordination between agencies from transportation sector subdomains or establish mechanisms for resource and information sharing, the report said.
Second, security protection plans for the transportation sector and several of its subdomains took six years to complete, or in some cases, have yet to be developed, it said, calling on the ministry to improve its security plans.
The report also said that while the Financial Supervisory Commission has cooperated with the Homeland Security Office to strengthen overall protection of the critical infrastructure under its jurisdiction, it has not fully carried out its duties as the coordinating agency for the financial sector.
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