What is digital resilience? What impact does it have on countries, businesses, and the public? Highlights review

What is digital resilience? What impact does it have on countries, businesses, and citizens?

How long can you go without the internet? The strong earthquake in Hualien on April 3 this year was the strongest earthquake in Taiwan in 25 years since the 921 earthquake, bringing our attention once again to the risk of network outages. However, many netizens shared on the Threads platform that this earthquake did not cause long-term power outages or internet disruptions; this also makes us reflect: what exactly is digital resilience? When facing natural disasters or emergencies, what critical role does resilient infrastructure play for countries, businesses, and citizens?

Host: Ethan Liu Jiezhong

Guests:

- Dr. Du Zhenyi, Assistant Researcher, Institute of Cybersecurity and Decision-Making Simulation

- Xu Zihan, Taiwan Representative, Open Knowledge Foundation

Key Summary

"What is digital resilience? What impact does it have on countries, businesses, and citizens?"

Definition and Importance of Digital Resilience

Digital resilience refers to the ability of systems to quickly recover and maintain services when faced with natural disasters, human incidents, or cybersecurity threats. The host mentioned the strong earthquake that occurred in Hualien on April 3, 2023. Although the earthquake was intense, it did not cause widespread power outages or prolonged internet interruptions. This was precisely the result of the implementation of digital resilience policies, demonstrating Taiwan's progress in the resilience of its communication networks. At the time, Audrey Tang, Taiwan's Minister of Digital Development, stated that the improvement in communication network resilience meant that the earthquake had little impact on network communications.

The host further pointed out that digital resilience is becoming increasingly important in modern life because, as the internet and mobile phones have become indispensable for work and daily life, any disruption to these technologies could severely affect the functioning of society. According to statistics, Taiwan has nearly 22 million internet users and over 30 million mobile subscriptions, indicating that digital devices have become essential tools in people's daily work and life. Therefore, digital resilience is crucial, as it ensures that digital technologies and network services can continue to operate in times of crisis.

Taiwan's Digital Resilience Practices and Challenges

Taiwan is a country that frequently faces natural disasters, such as typhoons and earthquakes. These disasters pose significant challenges to infrastructure, especially internet and communication services. Therefore, Taiwan's development of digital resilience, which allows for rapid recovery of normal communication after disasters, is extremely important. For example, during large-scale events or disaster forecasts, telecom operators will deploy mobile base stations in advance to handle potentially high communication demands. Such measures ensure that network services remain uninterrupted during disasters, maintaining the basic functioning of society.

Xu Zihan, the Taiwan representative of the Open Knowledge Foundation, pointed out that Taiwan performs exceptionally well in this regard, particularly when facing natural disasters like earthquakes and typhoons. Like Japan, Taiwan is located in a seismic zone and has experienced numerous disasters, accumulating extensive crisis response experience. Taiwan's communication services recover faster and are more stable during disasters than in many other countries, making Taiwan relatively outstanding on a global scale.

Dr. Du Zhenyi, an assistant researcher at the Institute for Cybersecurity and Decision Simulation, further added that digital resilience not only involves communication technology itself but also the physical resilience of infrastructure. For instance, when submarine cables between Taiwan and outlying islands like Matsu encounter issues, locals rely on microwave communications to stay connected. Moreover, Taiwan is situated in a strategic location and could face interference from Chinese fishing vessels or other intrusions that might affect critical infrastructure. This means the threats Taiwan faces are multiple and diverse, increasing the pressure on building digital resilience. Therefore, in the construction of communication networks, Taiwan must not only address natural disasters but also guard against human-made threats.

Challenges and Responses to Global Cybersecurity Threats

Apart from natural disasters, cybersecurity threats are also a major challenge in modern society. For instance, in the case of foreign hacker attacks, Dr. Du Zhenyi, Assistant Researcher at the Institute for Cybersecurity and Decision-Making Analysis, pointed out that in mid-September 2023, multiple government agencies and critical infrastructure in Taiwan were subjected to a large-scale international hacker attack. These hackers primarily used distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks aimed at paralyzing systems and disrupting the operation of critical network services. Although such attacks do not cause direct physical damage, they can bring digital systems to a complete standstill, resulting in significant social and economic losses.

However, the Taiwanese government responded quickly to these cybersecurity threats, thanks to Taiwan's threat warning and information-sharing mechanisms. For example, relevant departments within the Ministry of Digital Development had received alerts before the hacker attacks occurred and reacted swiftly, ultimately restoring the attacked network systems in a short period. This rapid response capability is a crucial part of Taiwan's digital resilience development.

These cybersecurity threats are not only targeted at government agencies. Xu Zi-han, Taiwan representative of the Open Knowledge Foundation, pointed out that personal mobile phones, social media accounts, and other private devices could also become targets. Hackers often target the personal devices of key individuals to steal data and gain confidential information or manipulate important communications. Therefore, cybersecurity threats are no longer limited to a national level; everyone needs to improve their network security awareness and protect their personal data.

Fake News and Cognitive Warfare

Fake news and information warfare have become another invisible threat in today's society. The spread of fake news is extremely fast and often highly targeted and destructive. The main purpose of fake news is usually to undermine public trust in government institutions and social systems, thereby creating chaos. For example, during the pandemic, fake news about vaccines caused widespread social panic. These messages may appear credible on the surface, but in reality, they pose a serious threat to social stability.

Dr. Du Zhenyi, Assistant Researcher at the Institute for Cybersecurity and Decision Simulation, further points out that fake news often exploits people's emotional responses, especially fear or anger, to prompt them to quickly share information without verification. She advises that when the public encounters controversial or provocative messages, they should first calm down, take a moment to think, and then decide whether to believe the information. Typically, fake news spreads rapidly and generates massive emotional reactions within 48 hours, and delaying the response can effectively reduce its impact.

Xu Zihan, the Taiwan representative of the Open Knowledge Foundation, adds that cognitive warfare is also a part of modern information warfare. These operations target not only national institutions but also individuals and small organizations. For instance, during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian parliamentarians' phone numbers were exposed, leading to significant harassment and disruptions, further undermining the Ukrainian government's response capabilities. The ultimate goal of fake news and cognitive warfare is to weaken public trust in the government and diminish governmental authority by disrupting the dissemination of information.

Personal Information Security and Data Protection

In today's digital society, the security of personal data is becoming increasingly important, especially in Taiwan, where fraud cases are rampant. Many fraud incidents stem from the leakage of personal information, allowing fraudsters to use this data for targeted scams. For instance, many people fill out online forms or share personal information on social media without sufficient awareness of protection, increasing the risk of data breaches.

Dr. Du Zhenyi, Assistant Researcher at the Institute of Cybersecurity and Decision Modeling, emphasized that Taiwan has made certain progress in personal data protection laws, and the government has started establishing specialized agencies to oversee the enforcement of personal data protection. Nonetheless, compared to the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Taiwan still has significant room for improvement in terms of penalties and enforcement. In the EU, companies that experience personal data breaches face substantial fines, which prompts them to take data protection seriously. Taiwanese companies need to strengthen their efforts in this area.

Xu Zihan, Taiwan representative of the Open Knowledge Foundation, also pointed out that people should be more cautious when providing personal information, especially when shopping malls or online platforms request unnecessary identification numbers. They should refuse to provide such information and seek alternative methods for identity verification. Individuals should avoid oversharing sensitive information and use multi-layered data protection measures, such as using different email addresses for different registrations, to reduce the risk of data leaks.

Digital Disaster Prevention and Future Outlook

Digital resilience is not only the responsibility of governments and businesses; individuals should also have a certain level of digital disaster awareness. Dr. Zhen-Yi Du, Assistant Researcher at the Institute of Cybersecurity and Decision Simulation, mentioned that countries like Israel regularly conduct digital disaster drills to familiarize the public with how to respond in crisis situations. These drills include how to obtain information during a disaster, ensure the safety of family members, and protect personal data.

Digital resilience is like a network, with each person being a node. Individuals, businesses, and governments must work together to enhance digital resilience to ensure that society does not easily descend into chaos during a crisis. Therefore, digital resilience is a societal effort, and in the future, every country, organization, and individual will need to contribute in order to face increasingly complex digital challenges.