Global security threat perceptions have undergone a monumental shift in the 21st century, with the emergence of new challenges. One of the newly emerged security challenges for countries is how to protect their cyberspace from outside threats. Admittedly, Taiwan and India have become major victims of cyberattacks in recent times. Some reports suggest that Taiwan has in the past faced between 20 million and 30 million attacks every month, with Taiwanese government departments and businesses having become a major target of cybercrimes. More to the point, given its security concerns and its global presence in several areas including computer hardware, semiconductor and others, efforts in the past have been made to access Taiwan’s confidential documents regarding its defence ties with the US and other countries, trade secrets and others. On the other hand, India too has been subjected to massive cyberattacks, having reported almost 1.16 million cases in 2020. Its core areas of fundamental infrastructure including power, health, medicine, airlines, government official data have contentedly been targeted by cyberattacks.
China has been a major source of cyber threats for Taiwan and India. For example, last year, Taiwan Investigation Bureau’s Cyber Security Investigation acknowledged that two hacking groups having direct linkages to the Chinese government had attacked at least 10 Taiwanese government institutions and hacked 6,000 email accounts of government officials to steal vital information. In this context, it needs to be mentioned that this attack took place just a week after US Health Secretary Alex Azar’s visit to Taiwan. In the case of India, Chinese hacker groups were reportedly involved in choking power supply for hours in the city of Mumbai last year.
Surely, China having long standing conflicts with Taiwan and India is determined to use all sorts of means against these countries. China’s this act however, coupled with also among other factors, provides another avenue for cooperation between Taipei and India. While it is true that the two sides since the 1990s have taken efforts to improve bilateral ties, the process of expanding cooperation is too slow. However, with the fast changing of their security concerns and the indication of the strong political will to cement times, the two sides should make concrete efforts to establish cybersecurity cooperation.
Since over the years Taiwan has established a multi-layered infrastructure to protect its cyberspace, including the formation of the National Information and Communication Security Taskforce (NICST), the Department of Cybersecurity the Information and Electronic Warfare Command and others and India has also established Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) and National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC), the two countries can benefit from each other in several ways. First, working together will enable the two sides to know the functioning of each other’s cybersecurity system. Second, Since Taiwan has abundant expertise in how Chinese hackers attack, India can learn from working with that country. Third, the institutionalisation of cooperation will foster a strong bond between India’s software capabilities and Taiwan’s leadership in hardware. Fourth, the two countries can also explore the possibility of working with the US, since they individually work with that country in this area. Sixth, there is a need for expansion of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) in terms of areas and its membership. In doing so, India and the other countries should make the issue of cybersecurity cooperation a priority for Quad and accord a legitimate role for Taiwan. Seventh, Taiwan can play a pivotal role in helping India to shore up its military infrastructure that is vulnerable to China-backed cyberattacks.
Keeping in mind the need for fostering cybersecurity cooperation, the two sides should develop a framework for identifying, coordinating, sharing, and implementing cybersecurity best practices. They should take efforts towards promoting cooperation in the fields of cybersecurity-related research and development, cybersecurity standards and security testing, including accreditation process, and cybersecurity product development, including further consultations on such issues. India and Taiwan can also undertake skill development and capacity building programs jointly in the fields of cybersecurity, efforts to combat cybercrime, digital forensics, and legal frameworks. Holding consultations and taking steps towards improving the effectiveness of transnational cybercrime cooperation can help the two sides in expanding cooperation in the area.
Of course, the relationship faces some structural problems in expanding the scope of its engagement. But the time is ripe for India and Taiwan to move beyond the hesitation of history and engage each other in a more constructive way. And undoubtedly, cooperation in cybersecurity has the potential to mark a new chapter in Taiwan-India relations.