The Ministry of Science and Technology yesterday said it had not noticed a surge in the volume of incoming data transmissions from North Korea after several international media outlets linked the hacking attacks on Sony Pictures to Taiwan.
A number of international news outlets, including the BBC and NBC, yesterday quoted Washington officials as saying that they believe the cyberattacks were routed to servers in Taiwan to take advantage of faster computers.
The attack took place shortly after Sony Pictures announced the release date of The Interview, a comedy starring actors Seth Rogan and James Franco, who play two journalists-turned-CIA agents sent to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The cyberassault has resulted in many Hollywood celebrities’ personal information being leaked over the Internet — including social security numbers, e-mail exchanges, mailbox passwords and copies of passports.
Tsai Yi-lang (蔡一郎), project leader of the ministry’s Center for High-performance Computing Information Security, said that the National Applied Research Laboratories (NARL) had not detected any surge in the volume of incoming data transmissions from North Korea since the first attacks took place.
“North Korea does not have any outgoing underwater optic fiber cables. The only Internet access it possesses are land-based networks that it leases from China, so it is unlikely that it had access to Taiwan’s servers,” Tsai said.
He said that the US officials who expressed concern over Taiwan’s possible role in the attacks could have learned from Sony Pictures of Internet protocols (IP) coming from Taiwan, but that would not mean Taiwanese were involved.
“The alleged Northern Korean hackers could have incorporated virtual private networks or anonymity networks, for example by using the Tor project software — both are capable of displaying IPs originating from other countries to conceal their users’ real identities,” he said.
The use of botnets, a computer virus that enables hackers to command computers remotely, could also have given rise to Washington’s suspicions, he said.
Tsai said to avoid becoming the victim of botnets, people should not click on any suspicious e-mails or links on social media, including game requests and advertisements.
He said that the NARL would continue monitoring outgoing data transmission linked to Sony Pictures’ database and incoming data transmission surges from North Korea.
Meanwhile, the Executive Yuan’s National Information and Communication Security Taskforce yesterday said it was “still gathering information” about Washington’s allegations.
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS