Taiwan has launched a new ministry to tackle its growing cyber security attacks. The Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) is mandated to formulate and implement policies concerning information, telecommunications, communications, information security, and the internet.
The ministry was officially inaugurated on August 27 with one of Taiwan’s top 10 software personalities—Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang—selected to helm the newly formed government agency.
“This new ‘motor’ will contribute to keeping the country’s digital development on the fast track. The ministry will help the people build resilience in daily digital life, improve cybersecurity practices for businesses, introduce technologies and realize the vision of a smart country,” Tang said.
The release added that the ministry is also looking to hire top talents from the private sector through a more flexible hiring mechanism by the National Institute of Cyber Security. This body will be established under the ministry by the end of the year.
One of the ways MODA seeks to carry out its mandate is by focusing on adopting Web 3.0 technologies. While speaking with local news outlet Liberty Times, Tang revealed that the ministry has adopted InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) technology to boost its cybersecurity capabilities.
IPFS is an Ethereum-based decentralized peer-to-peer file sharing system that allows users to store their files and websites by hosting them on blockchain nodes. This has been touted to eliminate the vulnerabilities of a centralized approach susceptible to Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.
The ministry’s website is the first implementation of Web 3.0 technology. The website is built on the IPFS protocol and has elements of both Web 2 and Web 3.
Taiwan, political tension, and blockchain technology
MODA was launched at a critical time for Taiwan. The island nation is in the midst of an information war with China brought about by heightened political tensions.
Earlier this month, Reuters reported that the websites of Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense and the Office of the President were hit with DDoS attacks that brought them to a halt for some time. The cyber-attacks have targeted other government agencies and businesses that the government is saying are being launched from China and Russia.
Meanwhile, Taiwan has also been working on other areas of blockchain technology adoption while also looking to regulate the digital assets market. Last month, the central bank gave an update on the progress of the sovereign-backed digital currency (CBDC) it is working on.
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