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
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