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IoE Dangers Lurking, Taiwan Cybersecurity on Guard

The world's largest Consumer Electronics Show(CES) concluded in January 2020. The show is a reinterpretation of the Internet of Things, which became the "Intelligence of Things" by integrating 5G and AI elements. IoT devices worldwide are expected to exceed 45.4 billion units by 2023, 50% of which are home automation and security devices. This is followed by the Internet of vehicles, smart manufacturing, asset tracking, IoT in fuel gauges, IoT in water and electricity meters, and IoT in consumer electronics, among others.

The dramatic increase in the use of internet technology has tempted many criminals to attack and steal potentially valuable data such as company classified and personal data. Just like the current novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is spreading and affecting humans worldwide, endless new types of computer viruses and attacks will lead to significant losses in the world economy and business operations overall. In CrowdStrike's 2018 global survey investigating 1,300 companies, 66% of firms have experienced attacks with an average financial loss of over $1.1 million US dollars. Cybersecurity in IoT has therefore become one key factor in stable business operations.

According to statistics from the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Taiwan's cybersecurity output value in 2019 increased by 12.3% to $49.34 billion NT dollars compared with the same period in 2018. Two key factors that caused the increase in output value are the drastic rise in the export of cybersecurity network hardware, as well as domestic demand for cybersecurity services. For Taiwan's cybersecurity industry, the export value for products in network security (such as firewalls, UTM and network security hardware platforms), backend and mobile device protection (fingerprint identification chips, TPM modules), and new IoT security (gateways) is approximately $24.8 billion NT dollar. In addition, the output value for cybersecurity system services (cybersecurity inspection, operation management) is expected to exceed $21 billion NT dollars in 2021. This demonstrates the global cybersecurity awareness is on the rise, where demands lead to higher output value in professional services.

To help promote Taiwan ICT products internationally, the Bureau of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Economic Affairs has entrusted the Taiwan External Trade Development Council to plan and participate in major international exhibitions. Taiwan Excellence Pavilions have been planned for Computex Taipei in June, India's Convergence ICT expo in July, Berlin's IFA consumer electronics show in September, and World Congress on IT (WCIT) and Indonesia Infrastructure Week (IIW) in October. International press interviews have also been arranged to have in-depth reports in order to bring exposure and visibility to businesses. Taiwan Excellence's social media platform with over 3 million followers is also used for theme promotion. Deep interaction between KOLs and netizens will further improve the secure and reliable image of Taiwan's cybersecurity industry.

A few Taiwan’s leading cybersecurity brands are ZYXEL, VIVOTEK and Edgecore, as 2020 Taiwan Excellence Award winning enterprises:

• ZYXEL -AiShield, a cloud-based security log retention service. By enabling AiShield, you’ll be able to identify all your connected devices, preventing malware, phishing, hacker attacks/threats.
• VIVOTEK launches the world’s leading end to end Cybersecurity Management Solution. This solution provides a robust shield that starts from the front-end network camera (IT9389-HT), to network video recorder (ND9541P), and to the back-end video management software (VAST 2), allowing users to respond faster to threats and minimize cyber risks in IP surveillance networks.
• Edgecore Networks, a leading provider of traditional and open network solutions for enterprises, data centers, and telecommunication service providers, is pleased to introduce its latest L2+/Lite L3 10G Ethernet Aggregation switch — the ECS5520-18X, a high-performance 10GbE managed switch with two 40GbE uplink ports and enhanced cyber security features, designed for carrier/enterprise aggregation or small top-of-rack data center.
• Advantech has launched a Mini UTM (Unified Threat Management) SRP (Solution Ready Package) to help its customers counter the continuous growth in network security threats. This mini UTM also simplifies universal customer premise equipment installations, providing not only general UTM functionalities such as firewall, antivirus, and content filtering, but also supports router and switch configurations.