TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan faces escalating cybersecurity challenges as it ranks as the second most targeted nation in the Asia-Pacific region, following South Korea, according to Microsoft. FortiGuard Labs reports that Taiwan experiences nearly 13,000 threats per second, which accounts for over 40% of regional attacks. Additionally, Check Point reveals that Taiwan's attack frequency is 2.6 times the global average.
Digital Minister Huang Yennun (黃彥男) attributes Taiwan's vulnerability to its geopolitical significance. Google forecasts that China seeks to enhance its dominance over the Taiwan Strait by disrupting critical information infrastructure. Cyberattacks pose persistent threats, ranging from disinformation and online scams to severe incidents such as hacking into banks and defense systems.
In August 2018, a computer virus infected Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC, 台積電), halting operations for three days and resulting in losses of NT$5.2 billion. On Sept. 12, the pro-Russian hacker group NoName057 targeted Taiwanese financial institutions, including the Taiwan Stock Exchange (臺灣證券交易所), Chang Hwa Commercial Bank (彰化商業銀行), and Mega Financial Holding (兆豐金融控股). Despite these attacks, recovery mechanisms minimized the overall impact.
To address these challenges, Taiwan plans to amend the Cyber Security Management Act (資通安全管理法) to enhance security protocols. The government aims to implement a zero-trust architecture across both public and private sectors, ensuring stringent data access verification. Minister Huang emphasizes the importance of cybersecurity education, with the Ministry poised to train 1,000 cybersecurity professionals to safeguard national information security.
