Taiwan’s digital ministry uses AI to combat online fraud and deep fakes

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Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) is using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) tools to combat online fraud and cyberattacks. 

Speaking to GovInsider, a MODA spokesperson said that the ministry has set up the National Centre for Cybersecurity Technology (NICS) to develop advanced anti-fraud technologies, including “fraud keyword extraction” and “data mining deepening”. 

“These technologies integrate cutting-edge innovations like natural language processing (NLP), big data analytics, AI, and ML to help relevant agencies quickly identify and analyse potential fraud threats,” the spokesperson said. 

The technologies developed by the centre are focused on early-stage fraud detection and conducting round-the-clock automated inspections. 

The spokesperson noted that in May 2024, the system inspected an average of 30,000 cases daily and reported 5,000 to 10,000 suspected cases. The total monthly inspection volume has exceeded 900,000 cases. 

This significantly reduces the burden on manual inspections, as well as improves the efficiency and timeliness of anti-fraud operations, the spokesperson added. 

Currently, the system can automatically inspect up to 40,000 cases daily.  

The platform integrates multiple deepfake detection methods and uses a standardised evaluation system to select the most effective detection techniques, the spokesperson said.  

“With this platform, relevant agencies can quickly identify and analyse potential fraud threats,” the spokesperson said. 

MODA’s ambit 

Founded in August 2022, MODA is Taiwan’s digital development agency and was initially convened as a rapid response team, by bringing together teams from multiple ministries during the Covid-19 pandemic.   

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MODA is currently headed by Taiwan’s Digital Affairs Minister, Huang Yen-nun, who is an expert in data security, communications, and AI. The ministry is responsible for promoting Taiwan’s overall digital policy innovation and reform.  

The sectors under its ambit include telecommunications, information, cybersecurity, internet, and communications. 

The ministry plans and executes Taiwan’s digital development policies, coordinate infrastructure, environment preparation, and resource management to ensure national cybersecurity, encourage cross-sectoral digital transformation, and enhance digital resilience for all, the spokesperson added. 

With a focus on advancing Taiwan’s digital government and helping civic organisations, the ministry promotes various data-driven social innovation projects to assist non-profit organisations enhance their data utilisation capabilities.  

Based on their practical needs, MODA designs a series of data co-learning and practical courses and provides tailored consulting and support to help organisations identify pain points, prepare resources, acquire solutions, and continuously improve.  

Data co-learning refers to a learning technique in ML where multiple models, each trained on different but complementary views of the same data, collaboratively learn from each other to improve their overall prediction accuracy. 

The ministry works with non-profit organisations. Giving an example, the spokespersons noted, that it assisted the Azure Alliance, which has a mandate to clean up marine debris, in collecting marine data to build a predictive model for visualising marine debris, “thereby strengthening their data resilience and enhancing their capacity for social innovation to achieve shared prosperity”. 

Helping local governments 

MODA also organises user-centred design (UCD) workshops for local governments to improve the quality of government website services.  

Examples include Taichung City's Social Affairs Bureau’s welfare platform and early treatment map searches, and Tainan's tourism website for guided tour reservations.  

The spokesperson added that MODA provides online website inspection tools, enabling local governments to evaluate their website services independently and align with the Taiwan government’s website service management specifications, to deliver consistent and higher-quality government services. 

In addition to ongoing collaboration with local governments to review service processes, MODA aims to establish proactive, precise, and digitally inclusive government services.  

The ministry plans to achieve this by sharing exemplary case studies and fostering horizontal exchanges through platforms like IT manager meetings, the spokesperson said.  

To address funding gaps in local governments' digital development, MODA also designs subsidy programmes tailored to the digital maturity of each region, offering different subsidy rates based on local financial capacities.  

Approximately eight local governments benefit from this programme annually, the spokesperson added. 

Smart Government 2.0 

The Executive Yuan, which is Taiwan’s highest administrative body, has a digital or smart government 2.0 (2021-2025) plan and MODA has been tasked to implement it. 

According to the spokesperson, the focus is to foster government data openness, leverage data to improve decision-making, and optimise government services through technological innovation.  

“Currently, various measures have been gradually integrated into government operations. This plan uses medium- to long-term strategies to drive government digital transformation, ensuring stability and sustainability in governance while laying a solid foundation for a smart government,” the spokesperson said. 

In terms of open data, the government has released over 51,000 datasets, including information on real estate transactions, real-time electricity usage, and fraudulent LINE identities (Line is an instant messaging and social networking application, operated by the Korean-Japanese company LY Corporation).  

These datasets have been widely used for innovative services, such as developing a medication consultation chatbot using pharmaceutical data, assisting in locating missing pets with pet-related data, and promoting green transportation with charging station data, the spokesperson said. 

Personal data 

Talking about the use of personal data to access services, the spokesperson noted that MyData, is a personalised data management platform introduced by MODA, which operates on the core principle of "user consent and secure data access."  

The platform provides diverse options for downloading personal data and applying for services.  

It connects with 80 agencies, offering 140 personal data services, and introduces innovative features such as mobile number ID authentication and multi-person data application integration, significantly enhancing application convenience.  

Services like conditional online passport renewal and social housing applications can now be completed entirely online, eliminating the need for in-person visits. 

MODA has also supported local government digital transformation, completing 19 projects, such as Taoyuan City's automated vehicle permit application process and Chiayi County's high-risk elder care alert system, the spokesperson added.  

Additionally, it assisted the Ministry of Justice in planning the Smart Prison project and supported the Ministry of the Interior in enhancing the efficiency of Taoyuan International Airport's automated clearance system.