Premier Lai Ching-te today thanked the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) and the Ministry of Justice for their active assistance in minimizing losses from a potentially high-value cyberattack on a domestic bank. As the case is currently being investigated as a transnational crime, the premier directed the MOI to cooperate closely with international authorities in order to bring the perpetrators to justice as quickly as possible and reassure the public.
Acknowledging the trend towards the digitalization of finance, Premier Lai emphasized that the issue of information and network security consequently cannot be ignored. Although the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has been promoting financial information security for years, Taiwan has nevertheless suffered sporadic attacks involving high sums. The premier directed the FSC to review protections currently in place to determine whether more advanced measures are required. The FSC should also step up oversight of financial organizations under its purview and encourage the adoption of enhanced information security management. The premier called for a joint-security platform for the financial industry to be set up by the end of the year in order to provide both advance warning and loss management and prevention capabilities.
Under the overarching policy directive of "information security is national security," the Executive Yuan has already identified the protection of the nation's critical information infrastructure as a priority, and banking network security is a crucial part of such work. As the institutions charged with carrying out monetary policy and stabilizing financial markets, state-owned banks must take the lead in implementing effective protections. Premier Lai ordered all responsible supervisory agencies and ministries to promote joint-security measures in accordance with the Executive Yuan's schedule.