Tue, Sep 19, 2023 page3

• Cybersecurity useful for ties: US official

  ‘IMPORTANT FRIEND’: Laurie Locascio told the president that she hoped to discuss bolstering collective cybersecurity capabilities with digital minister Audrey Tang

  • By Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporter
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  Cybersecurity cooperation would help the US and Taiwan bolster commercial ties, a US delegation told President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday.

  US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Director Laurie Locascio, who also serves as US Undersecretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, is leading a cybersecurity business development mission to Taiwan.

  The representatives from 13 firms who joined the mission were looking forward to exchanging ideas with their Taiwanese counterparts, Locascio said.

  

  US National Institute of Standards and Technology Director Laurie Locascio, left, speaks as President Tsai Ing-wen, right, looks on at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday.

  Photo: CNA

  They hoped to meet with Taiwan’s leading information and communications technology, security and critical infrastructure providers to promote commercial engagement, she said.

  “Taiwan is an important friend and trading partner of the US in the Indo-Pacific region,” she said.

  The Technology Trade and Investment Collaboration framework signed by US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) in 2021 forms part of efforts focused on cybersecurity that could also reinforce business ties between the two sides, she said.

  The launch of the Ministry of Digital Affairs last year demonstrated Tsai’s dedication to information security, she said.

  The National Cybersecurity Strategy released by US President Joe Biden’s administration in March said the US would “strengthen the capacity of like-minded states across the globe” to advance shared cybersecurity priorities and promote a common vision for the digital ecosystem.

  Locascio said she hoped to discuss with Minister of Digital Affairs Audrey Tang (唐鳳) and other industry leaders how the US can bolster collective cybersecurity capabilities with Taiwan through the American Institute in Taiwan.

  Information security is the top priority of the NIST, which is responsible for laying down information security standards, guidelines and best practices for the industry, the US government, international partners and the general public, Locascio said.

  She said she looked forward to receiving input from Taiwanese experts to ensure the effectiveness of the upgraded Cybersecurity Framework 2.0, which the NIST released last month, in managing cybersecurity risks for users worldwide.

  Locascio also said she hoped the mission’s visit could provide Taiwan with the strategies and tools it needs to further strengthen its information security.

  Tsai said that since she took office, she has repeatedly emphasized that “information security is national security.”

  As cybersecurity is a shared concern between Taiwan and the US, she hoped that the two sides would continue to bolster cooperation in the field and promote safer development using innovative technologies, Tsai said

  Taiwan has constant exchanges with the NIST, including at the RSA Conference in the US in April and the first Science and Technology Cooperation Dialogue in Taiwan in May, she said.

  In addition to collaboration in technology, Taiwan and the US are deepening their economic and trade partnership, Tsai added.

  She said she hoped that after signing the first agreement under the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade, the two sides could soon finalize an agreement to stop double taxation, which would boost industrial cooperation.
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