OT-2118
May 4, 2021
Remarks by AIT Director W. Brent Christensen at CyberSec Trade Show
May 4, 2021
(As Prepared for Delivery)
President Tsai, Secretary-General Koo, Vice Premier Shen, Mr. Wu, Editor-in-Chief of iThome, ladies and gentlemen, good morning!
It is wonderful to see so many of Taiwan’s senior officials affirming the importance of cybersecurity. Good cybersecurity starts with leadership, and we model that today.
I can say with firsthand knowledge that your participation today is not just a token gesture. AIT has cooperated with many of you on major cybersecurity events and initiatives, particularly over the past eighteen months, including last year’s research trip to the RSA cybersecurity conference in San Francisco, the critical infrastructure virtual seminar, the cybersecurity strategy forum, and the cybersecurity for advanced manufacturing seminar, just to name a few.
Thank you for your continued partnership. We all share a common interest in delivering requisite resources and best-in-class technologies to our cybersecurity programs.
The United States also continues to place great importance on cybersecurity and continues to develop our approach to this issue.
Indeed the unrelenting cyberattacks on public and private sector targets threatens not only economic growth but also national security. As our economies undergo even more digital transformation, the importance of keeping these 5G enabled, IoT devices secure is of paramount importance.
To meet these threats head on, the U.S. federal government established the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, then went a step further by establishing a new White House National Cyber Director.
But we all know that cybersecurity cannot be accomplished through government intervention alone. And speaking here today at Taiwan’s largest cybersecurity conference, a private-sector trade show, is the perfect opportunity to reiterate the importance of cooperation between the public and private sectors.
AIT is delighted to be at CyberSec. We appreciate the work of companies researching vulnerabilities, developing technologies, and deploying solutions. The majority of vulnerabilities uncovered, including the recent SolarWinds and Microsoft Exchange vulnerabilities, are uncovered by private sector companies.
Cooperation between the public and private sectors is also a key recommendation from the bipartisan U.S. Congressional Cyberspace Solarium Commission.
Further, the U.S. government’s Chief Information Security Officer Chris DeRusha, said on April 22, that the Biden Administration is focused on keeping an “open door” with industry partners.
In sum, I am heartened to see the cooperation between the Taiwan authorities and the Taiwan private sector here at Cybersec 2021. It is further evidence that the United States and Taiwan are as aligned in our approach to cybersecurity as we are in so many other areas.
Thank you again to iThome and their team for organizing this trade show.
I wish you all a successful event!
