The government is undertaking a project aimed at boosting the nation’s information technology defenses in light of attacks from hackers in China and elsewhere, National Development Council Director Chien Hung-wei (簡宏偉) said.
The national information security improvement project is scheduled to be implemented from next year to 2020, Chien said, and the plans call for the development of a national information risk assessment mechanism, as well as the establishment of a defense and emergency response system to deal with attacks on national communications networks.
The Executive Yuan has already implemented defense and counterattack drills for its internal networks in response to attacks from China and other nations, and it is planning to hold a cyberdefense seminar in December.
Premier Lin Chuan (林全) on Thursday during the Cabinet’s weekly meeting expressed his support for the immediate establishment of information security defense infrastructure with the appropriate access to funds and specialized personnel, and called on various government agencies to coordinate on cyberdefense intelligence gathering.
The Executive Yuan on Aug. 1 established an Information Security Office, staffed by 21 members of the Ministry of Science and Technology and other agencies, who are tasked with ensuring information security by coordinating with other government departments.
The new office has a greater role than that of its predecessor during the administration of former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and its security level has been raised from grade 3 to grade 2.
The Institute for Information Industry is to report directly to the new office without having to go through the Ministry of Science and Technology.
The office is pushing for the enactment of an information security management act, as well as working on a three-year information security development plan.
The proposed bill is due to be reviewed by the Cabinet later this month and it is estimated that it would be sent to the Legislative Yuan for approval in the middle of November, Chien said.
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