The island of Taiwan has long trusted U.S. support in the face of aggression from China. But in this "new, unpredictable era" of President Donald Trump upending global relationships, said Nikkei Asia, Taiwan finds itself seeking new security allies while "trying to keep Trump happy." 

Why is Taiwan worried about US support? 
Taiwan's decades-old "security relationship" with the U.S. has been "less than assured" since Trump returned to the White House, said The Guardian. His "dramatic abandonment of Ukraine," in particular, "left many on the island wondering if its most important partner might not be so reliable anymore." 

Trump has also publicly accused Taiwan of "stealing" America's semiconductor chip industry, and his "Liberation Day" tariffs would place a 32% levy on imports from Taiwan. Although those plans have been paused, the "confusing signals" have left Taipei "wondering where it stands," said The Washington Post. 

What is Taiwan's approach to the US? 
President William Lai Ching-te has committed to raising Taiwan's defense spending to more than 3% of its GDP — a move designed to reassure Trump, who had accused Taipei of not "spending enough on its own defense," said NPR. Taiwan's giant semiconductor company TSMC has also committed to investing $100 billion in U.S. factories. 

Increasing economic dependence on the U.S. in this way "could placate" Trump. But it may also "become a way for Trump to exert more pressure in the future," said The Spectator. 

Where else could Taiwan look for security? 
"Relying entirely" on the U.S. is "no longer a viable path forward," said Taiwan's former culture minister Yingtai Lung in The New York Times. One solution could be to "reconcile with China." But any such rapprochement can only come through "mutual respect, equal footing and the guarantee of freedom" from Beijing, said John Cheng at the Taipei Times. And right now, "that's not on the table." 

Taiwan could also look to Europe, which would welcome greater "technology cooperation" with Taiwan, said the European Council on Foreign Relations. In return, Europe could provide "low-key support to enhance" Taiwan's experience in "information warfare" and "countering hybrid threats" such as undersea cable sabotage and cyberattacks.

The introduction of generative artificial intelligence has complicated the job-seeking and hiring process, causing confusion as the line between human beings and AI gets thinner. And in the hands of bad actors, generative AI enables an emerging security threat for companies seeking employees amid a flood of fake job seekers.

Fake job applicants 'ramped up massively'
Companies have long had to defend themselves from hackers "hoping to exploit vulnerabilities in their software, employees or vendors," but now "another threat has emerged," said CNBC. Hiring employers are being inundated by applicants who are "wielding AI tools to fabricate photo IDs, generate employment histories and provide answers during interviews." By 2028, one in four job candidates globally will be bogus, according to research firm Gartner. Hiring a fake job seeker can put the company at risk for malware ransom attacks and theft of trade secrets or funds.

Cybersecurity and cryptocurrency firms have recently seen a surge in fake job seekers, since remote roles are particularly alluring targets. The number of fraudulent job candidates has "ramped up massively" this year, said Ben Sesser, the CEO of BrightHire, to CNBC. Humans are "generally the weak link in cybersecurity," and since hiring is an "inherently human process," it has become a "weak point that folks are trying to expose.”

Last year, the Justice Department alleged that "over 300 U.S. companies had accidentally hired impostors to work remote IT-related jobs," said Inc. The employees were tied to North Korea, sending millions in wages home, which the DOJ alleged "would be used to help fund the authoritarian nation's weapons program." 

Hiring managers in the dark
The fake employee industry has expanded to include criminal groups in Russia, China, Malaysia and South Korea, said Roger Grimes, a computer security consultant, to CNBC. Sometimes, they perform the role "so well" that employers were "sorry they had to let them go." 

Hiring managers at most companies are generally unaware of the risks of fake job candidates, according to BrightHire's Sesser. They are responsible for talent strategy, but "being on the front lines of security has historically not been one of them,” he said. “Folks think they are not experiencing it," but it's more likely that they are "just not realizing that it's going on.”