An army of hackers based in China has broken into Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) databases, stealing classified information such as President Chen Shui-bian's (
"This is the first time we have found that the DPP headquarters' computer systems were breached by Chinese hackers," the official said. "The incident has sent jitters through the Ministry of National Defense, which deems a systematic information attack launched by China as military warfare."
Information stolen from party headquarters included the personal itineraries of Chen, who doubles as DPP chairman, and those of other high-ranking party officials such as DPP Secretary-General Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄).
Also leaked was classified information on visits to the US by high-ranking DPP officials ahead of the US presidential election.
According to the Cabinet official, the DPP headquarters was an easy target and the attackers were aware it would be more difficult to break into computer systems belonging to the Presidential Office or the defense ministry, where security is tighter.
The attacks were noted a few days ago and the situation has been monitored 24 hours a day since.
This is not the first time that China has conducted information warfare against Taiwan. Last September, the Cabinet discovered that hackers in Hubei and Fujian provinces had spread 23 different Trojan horse programs to the networks of 10 private high-tech companies in Taiwan and used them as a springboard to break into at least 30 different government agencies and 50 private companies.
The Trojan-horse programs were used against the National Police Administration, the defense ministry, the Central Election Commission and the central bank.
Since it appeared no government information had been stolen, the Cabinet suspected that the program was likely aimed at paralyzing the nation's computer systems, stealing sensitive government information or preparing computers for future information warfare.
Trojan-horses are one of the most serious threats to computer security. A computer user may not only have been attacked but may also be attacking others unknowingly.
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