The Cabinet plans to establish a shared platform for coordination on information-security efforts aimed at operators of the nation’s critical infrastructure, a source said yesterday.
The platform would allow a coordinated response in the event that information security is compromised and critical systems such as power distribution or transportation networks are affected, the source said.
The government’s information security department would also assist the Ministry of Science and Technology to develop ways to protect sensitive information, the source said.
The efforts are part of a bid to protect information related to the government’s Forward-looking Development Project in the face of numerous attacks from Chinese hackers and other international threats, the source said, adding that the ministry is to fund the research.
Premier Lin Chuan (林全), who has described information security as an important component of national security, last week called on the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of the Interior and other government departments to report on their confidence in the security of the sensitive information at their command.
The Cabinet approved a cybersecurity draft bill on April 27 and has submitted it to the legislature for approval. It is expected to be passed at the legislature’s next general assembly meeting.
The bill is aimed at protecting government departments’ computer systems and digital information, as well as other vital security interests such as electrical power grids, water reservoirs, transportation systems, financial institutions, communications networks, emergency medical facilities and high-tech industrial parks.
The bill would require certain institutions to enact plans for carrying out the protection of their computer systems and sensitive information, as well as to appoint bodies to implement and supervise the moves.
Those who fail to do so by a specified deadline would face fines of between NT$100,000 and NT$1 million (US$3,321 and US$33,214), the bill stipulates.
Some lawmakers believe that a reward system for compliance should be used in place of fines, a viewpoint that has sparked ongoing discussion related to the bill.
However, lawmakers are in consensus regarding the inclusion of the eight industries specified in the bill, which is less than the 16 industries outlined in the equivalent US cybersecurity bill and the 13 included in Japan’s bill.
The US bill includes the chemical and nuclear-material industries within its scope.
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