At least 900 cybersecurity positions would need to be filled at various central and local government agencies to protect the nation’s information technology (IT) infrastructure and combat escalating Chinese attacks, sources said.
For example, central government agencies categorized as level A each need four full-time cybersecurity staff, the sources said.
Level B government agencies need three cybersecurity staff each and level C agencies need one each, they said, adding that government agencies in level D and level E do not have their own core IT networks, and their cybersecurity work could be outsourced to the private sector.
Photo: Reuters
Noting the Executive Yuan’s plan to establish a ministry of digital development next year to bolster information security and encourage growth in related industries, sources said the planned ministry would have an agency that might need to hire up to 200 cybersecurity professionals, as the Executive Yuan’s Department of Cyber Security has only 24 full-time staff.
As the new positions would entail classified information and national security concerns, the Executive Yuan cannot provide specifics on the cybersecurity levels of every government agency, but a shortage cybersecurity staff is widely known, the sources said.
The positions would be filled in stages as the Executive Yuan looks for qualified professionals in the IT sector, or recent graduates from universities’ digital technology departments.
A short-term solution could be to train current IT staff at government offices and convert them into cybersecurity workers, they added.
Additional reporting by Jason Pan
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS