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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 US to advise on cybersecurity issues
Staff monitor equipment at the Cybercrime Prevention Center in Taipei on Dec. 11, 2017. Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
PUBLIC SECTOR: The US and 14 other nations, dubbed the ‘Red’ team, are to test local information systems, while Taiwan, the ‘Blue’ team, will defend against simulated attacks
By Lee Hsin-fang / Staff reporter
The US is to offer Taiwan advice on how to bolster information security in the public sector after the Cyber Offensive and Defensive Exercises next month, sources with knowledge of the matter said yesterday.
It is to be the first time that the US would provide assistance to Taiwan’s efforts to close information security loopholes, the sources said.
Vice Premier Chen Chi-mai （陳其邁） last month said that Taiwan will test its cyberdefense capabilities in the exercises, which include the US and 14 other nations.
American Institute in Taiwan Director Brent Christensen has warned Taiwan about increasing instances of China-backed cyberattacks against its technology sector, citing statistics from last year that showed a seven-fold increase from 2017.
The number of cyberattacks the sector is expected to encounter is likely to grow 20-fold this year from 2017, Christensen said.
Chinese cyberwarfare operatives used to concentrate attacks on the nation’s semiconductor industry, but have expanded the scope of their attacks to include smart machinery and electronic components, the sources said.
Chinese cyberattacks targeting the public sector are just as rampant, one of the sources said, adding that the government was hit by 360 successful database attacks in 2017, of which 80 percent were traced to China.
The public sector weathers 20 million to 40 million cyberattacks each month, the source said.
An Executive Yuan official, who requested anonymity, said that the public sector comes under attack from the Chinese government almost every day.
Next month’s exercises are scheduled over five non-consecutive days in two stages, with the venues and most of the participating nations being kept secret.
One of the drills is to test government officials and will be played out by “cyberwarfare operatives” disguised as acquaintances, coworkers or superiors sending phishing e-mails and text messages, they said.
The teams are to be designated Blue （defense） and Red （attack）, with Taiwan’s security team as the Blue team and the 15 other nations as the Red team, they said.
The simulated attacks will also attempt to hack official government Web sites to test the capability of local cybersecurity teams to protect them and respond to the potential effects of such attacks, they added.
Additional reporting by CNA
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
