Taiwan not only faces military intimidation from China, but is also on the front line of global cybersecurity threats, and it is taking action to counter those attacks, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday.
Speaking at the opening of this year’s Cybersec Expo in Taipei, the president assured foreign diplomats and exhibitors that Taiwan remained committed to strengthening its defense against cyberattacks and enhancing the resilience of its digital infrastructure.
Lai referenced a report from the National Security Bureau (NSB) indicating that the Government Service Network faced an average of 2.4 million intrusion attempts daily last year, more than double the figure from 2023.
Photo: screen grab from the Presidential Office’s Flickr page
The NSB report focused on cyberattacks by Chinese state-backed hackers targeting government agencies, the high-tech sector and critical infrastructure in Taiwan.
Under the National Cybersecurity Strategy unveiled last week, the government would continue to build up the resilience of Taiwanese society, promote the industry’s ecosystem and develop new technologies for emerging risks, Lai said.
The strategy outlines the government’s plans and objectives for addressing pervasive cybersecurity risks over the next few years.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said that Taiwan ranked at the top in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of cybersecurity threat volume, citing data from US-based cybersecurity firm FortiGuard Labs.
A report by FortiGuard Labs indicated that there were 412 billion malicious threats detected across the Asia-Pacific region in the first half of 2023, with 55 percent of those targeting Taiwan, Greene said.
He said the partnership between the US and Taiwan in the cybersecurity sector was therefore critical because no economy or government could tackle such challenges alone.
The Cybersec Expo, which runs until tomorrow, brings together more than 400 cybersecurity brands to showcase their latest technologies and solutions, organizers said.
The three-day event also includes about 300 talks, featuring speakers such as Jan Bartosek, deputy speaker of the Czech Chamber of Deputies, and Jason Vogt, an assistant professor at the US Naval War College.
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