The Executive Yuan is considering an amendment to the Principles on Limiting Harmful Products Against National Information Security Used by Government Agencies (各機關對危害國家資通安全產品限制使用原則) in response to recent Chinese cyberattacks, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
An explicit ban on all hardware and software made in China would target government agencies and companies renting equipment for critical infrastructure, the source said.
The amendment would follow Minister Without Portfolio Wu Tze-cheng (吳澤成) saying that the Executive Yuan should reprimand agencies and companies that used easily hacked equipment that led to Taiwan High Speed Rail Co’s Xinzuoying Station’s digital billboard being compromised.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Liberty Times
Shortly after US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Wednesday last week, Chinese hackers obtained access to screens in 7-Eleven stores at Xinzuoying Station.
Government agencies would be required to incorporate a ban on Chinese components in suppliers’ contracts, with digital billboards and surveillance cameras the primary concerns, the source said.
The Executive Yuan on April 19, 2019, issued an administrative order for agencies to conduct an equipment inventory for China-made products, the person said.
As of Dec. 18, 2020, the Executive Yuan notified all governmental agencies that it had banned the use of all Chinese brands.
The agencies were ordered to have all Chinese-made equipment used internally and by subcontractors replaced by the end of last year, the source said.
The amendment would address the gaps that allowed compromised digital billboards to be rented by companies operating parts of the nation’s infrastructure, the person said.
The cyberattack demonstrated the potential for malicious spreading of inappropriate messages in public locations, prompting the Executive Yuan’s National Center for Cyber Security Technology to push for the amendment, the source said.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
South Korea is planning to revise its controversial electronic arrival card, a step Taiwanese officials said prompted them to hold off on planned retaliatory measures, a South Korean media report said yesterday. A Yonhap News Agency report said that the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to remove the “previous departure place” and “next destination” fields from its e-arrival card system. The plan, reached after interagency consultations, is under review and aims to simplify entry procedures and align the electronic form with the paper version, a South Korean ministry official said. The fields — which appeared only on the electronic form
RSS