TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) has reached an agreement with a government intelligence agency in hopes of improving the company’s digital security competence.

Cybersecurity will provide a solid foundation for electricity distribution in the future, said Taipower Chairman Yang Wei-fuu (楊偉甫) at a press conference on Tueday (Sept. 17). The generation and transmission of electricity increasingly rely on digital communications technology as the country moves toward wind and solar energy, he added.

The state-owned power supplier signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau on Tuesday, laying out future collaborations on ensuring the security of the enterprise’s operating systems. The agreement entails the sharing of intelligence between Taipower and the Investigation Bureau in order to better tackle cyberattacks.

Taipower will utilize intelligence provided by the Investigation Bureau to thwart hacking operations, and through information shared by Taipower, the Investigation Bureau will be able to prevent other infrastructure from being compromised by cyberattacks, Yang said. The company is confident that with the cooperation of the bureau, it will improve its digital protection mechanisms.

Leu Weng-jong (呂文忠), director-general of the Investigation Bureau, said the supply of electricity has an impact on economic development, hence stability in power distribution across the country is of great importance. The MoU is intended to reinforce mutual collaboration on preventing malicious cyberattacks from disrupting Taipower’s electricity supply, Leu added.