Taiwanese and US security officials discussed how Taiwanese companies could adopt key US defense supply chain standards during a rare meeting on US soil in April, a senior government official said.
Deputy Minister of Digital Affairs Chiueh Her-ming (闕河鳴) met with representatives of the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco, the official said, asking not to be identified because they were not authorized to discuss security matters publicly.
The working-level meeting, organized by the American Institute in Taiwan, discussed the possibility of Taiwanese companies incorporating a US government cybersecurity standard called NIST 800-171, the official said.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
The standard is meant to protect the confidentiality of data labeled as “controlled unclassified information,” NIST said.
Chiueh met the NIST officials during a trip that included attending a security conference in San Francisco and meeting with representatives of major technology companies, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said in a statement.
The US is stepping up security support for and cooperation with Taiwan as Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) puts increased military pressure on the nation.
Ensuring that Taiwanese companies meet US defense supply chain standards would strengthen security ties between the two governments.
US defense contractors are generally required to comply with a range of key cybersecurity standards, which include the latest version of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, a program to safeguard sensitive information.
Other regional strategic partners of the US, such as Japan and South Korea, have already pushed their defense companies to seek the certification.
The Taiwanese delegation of nearly 20 officials and researchers on information security and defense discussed 5G communications and low Earth orbit satellites during the meeting.
Taiwan is preparing for the worst-case scenario of the destruction of its telecommunications and power lines in the event of an invasion by Beijing, Minister of Digital Affairs Audrey Tang (唐鳳) said in an interview last month.
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