Taiwan is to help Guatemala bolster its cybersecurity by establishing operations centers in the Central American nation and providing information security training, sources said on Sunday.
Guatemala, a diplomatic ally of Taiwan, is facing potential cybersecurity risks, after some major local banks commissioned the construction of their computer systems to China’s Huawei Technologies Co, which has been accused of providing backdoors for Chinese state-sponsored hackers to penetrate systems it has built, experts said.
US Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute professor Robert Evan Ellis, who specializes in Latin American studies, said in a recent interview with the Spanish-language news site Republica that Huawei is active in Guatemala, especially in telecom services and information technology.
Photo: Reuters
He said he was worried about a computer system Huawei installed for Banrural, one of Guatemala’s major banks.
The Guatemalan government might not be able to effectively safeguard the cybersecurity of government agencies and private companies, as it has neither the regulations nor the capabilities to defend against cyberattacks, making its communications infrastructure an easy target for hackers, Ellis said.
In Taipei, an official familiar with foreign affairs said that Huawei’s Central American headquarters is in Guatemala.
Given that Huawei’s 5G networks have been installed throughout Guatemala, as well as the company’s other communications infrastructure, Taiwan would help its ally strengthen its self-defense by establishing cybersecurity operations centers in the country and training cybersecurity talent, they said.
“Clean, reliable networks are the foundation for digital governance, and cybersecurity talent and capabilities are indispensable,” the official said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been preparing a group of officials, technical personnel and cybersecurity experts to visit Taiwan’s South and Central American allies to examine their information systems, they said.
Guatemala would be one of the delegation’s destinations, the official said, adding that Taiwan expects to build reliable networks jointly with its allies to defend against cybersecurity risks posed by Huawei’s systems.
The Republic of China (ROC) established diplomatic relations with the Republic of Guatemala in 1934. The country is one of Taiwan’s two diplomatic allies in Central America, along with Belize. They are among the 12 countries that have official diplomatic relations with the ROC.
Additional reporting by CNA
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
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
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
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