Taiwanese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) received top marks for cybersecurity at the APEC Business Advisory Council meeting in Gyeongju, South Korea, but the smallest of enterprises lagged, a trade representative said yesterday.
Taiwan Mobile Co president Jamie Lin (林之晨), the nation’s representative to the council, told reporters that Taiwanese SMEs this year ranked sixth in cybersecurity, behind Chile, the US, Canada, Papua New Guinea and Brunei, among a total of 21 APEC members.
Russian and Chinese SMEs received the lowest safety ratings, he said.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan’s APEC delegation via CNA
The study examined 2,000 SMEs from lists provided by government officials, of which 81 percent scored a “B-minus” or worse, he said.
The samples might not be representative, as the lists were volunteered by APEC governments, he said.
The purpose of the research is to provide an indicator of current trends and shine light on the importance of cybersecurity in SMEs, not a definitive ranking, he said.
Taiwan’s performance in the research was good, but there were signs of a security gap between the best and worst-protected firms, Lin said.
The government should adopt policies to give underperforming SMEs the cybertools they need to find safe Web site hosts and e-mail servers, he said.
Citing conversations with business leaders, Lin said that representatives from Australia and Vietnam reported the use of artificial intelligence in cyberattacks, showing that the dangers of algorithmic technology should not be overlooked.
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