Navy changes communications code in wake of leak

The navy has changed its communication codes in the wake of the arrest of Petty Officer First Class Liu Yueh-lun (劉岳龍) on suspicion of leaking a book of navy communications codes, the navy general headquarters said yesterday.

Yesterday the navy sought to assure the public that changing the codes would not affect its communications.

"The incident has not brought any harm to the navy's communication system. The system is a multi-band system, which should not be affected by the change of codes," the navy said.

It also said it will enhance security checks on personnel handling sensitive affairs to prevent a similar incident from happening again.

It also denied that there were any other naval personnel involved in the incident, saying that it believed Liu acted alone.

The military alleges that Liu passed the book of codes and possibly other classified material to his father, Liu Chen-kuo (劉禎國).

A defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the National Security Bureau (NSB) has received reports from Taiwan's intelligence agents in China that Liu's father had indeed given some confidential materials to the Chinese military.

An intelligence source revealed that Liu's father has been monitored by the Investigation Bureau and NSB for two years for suspected links to the Chinese military.

"Although Liu's father has been kept under watch by agents from different intelligence agencies for such a long time, he was still able to get the book of codes from his son and hand it to the Chinese military," the source said. "The result was not surprising. It was due to a lack of cooperation between the intelligence agencies involved," he said.

The intelligence source also expressed doubts about the navy's assurances.

"The navy has done what it has to do. But a mere change of codes will not be enough. If the Chinese military has gotten a hold of the book of codes, it could learn how to break the navy's new communication codes," the source said.