Given that Taiwan is a regular target of cyberattacks, the government should ensure that its COVID-19 vaccine reservation system adequately protects users’ information, a defense expert said on Saturday.
The Central Epidemic Command Center on Wednesday last week said that it plans to vaccinate 1 million people per week once there is an adequate supply.
To enable such volume, Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang (唐鳳) is working on creating a vaccine reservation system, to be launched later this month.
Photo: CNA
The system would enable people to make appointments through the National Health Insurance (NHI) app or a dedicated Web site, and later at supermarkets and pharmacies.
In a report published on Thursday last week, Institute for National Defense and Security Research assistant research fellows Tzeng Yi-suo (曾怡碩) and Chang Tun-cheng (張敦程) gave recommendations for vaccine distribution.
As people who receive COVID-19 shots must be observed for a longer period after they are vaccinated and require more space for social distancing than people given a flu shot, the researchers suggested referring to wartime field hospital protocols and approaching the military for assistance.
Poor preparation could make a mess of vaccine distribution, as other countries have experienced firsthand, Tzeng said on Saturday.
It could also create an opening for bad actors to steal personal information, especially at a time ripe for spreading misinformation, he added.
The reservation system should therefore be created with careful attention paid to information security, or else people could lose trust in the government, he said.
“Information security is a matter of both offensive and defensive ability,” and requires considerable investment by nations, National Cheng Kung University Department of Electrical Engineering professor Li Jung-shian (李忠憲) said.
However, he said that he has little concern about Tang’s ability to create a secure system, as she has a wealth of experience after creating the mask purchasing system last year and the text message real-name registration system last month.
Li said that during his time as deputy director-general of the National Center for High-Performance Computing, he gained some experience working with the NHI database and treats matters involving healthcare with caution.
Telecommunications are handled according to strict standards, and are relatively well-resourced and secure, he added.
Vaccine status is soon to be linked with travel records and other related databases, Science and Technology Law Institute legal researcher Peng Jui-jen (彭睿仁) said.
As such, information security extends beyond a single database, meaning that a hack of one database could compromise them all, he said, recommending that the issue be treated as a national security threat.
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