A Chinese cyberspace bureau yesterday denounced Google Inc for deciding not to recognize the agency’s authority after a Beijing-linked security breach, calling the US Internet giant’s action “unacceptable and unintelligible.”
The reprimand from the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) came after Google said the agency was implicated in an online security vulnerability and the firm was revoking its trust in its Internet certificates.
“The decision that Google has made is unacceptable and unintelligible to CNNIC, and meanwhile CNNIC sincerely urge that Google would take users’ rights and interests into full consideration,” CNNIC said in a statement posted on its Web site.
A Google security engineer wrote on the company’s online security blog last week that CNNIC and a firm called MCS Holdings LLC had been found to have issued “unauthorized digital certificates for several Google domains.”
The “misissued certificates would be trusted by almost all browsers and operating systems,” he said, describing the resulting vulnerability as a “serious breach” of the Internet certificate authority system.
Microsoft Corp and Mozilla Corp, owner of the popular Firefox Internet browser, also announced they were revoking trust in all MCS certificates.
The Google posting was updated on Wednesday to say that CNNIC’s certificates “will no longer be recognized in Google products” adding that the Chinese organization was “welcome ... to reapply once suitable technical and procedural controls are in place.”
An ant-icensorship group, GreatFire.org — which has accused Beijing of attacking its services — said the original revelation was evidence that CNNIC had been “complicit” in so-called man-in-the-middle operations.
Such attacks involve an unauthorized intermediary inserting themselves between computer users and their online destinations, usually undetected, allowing them to harvest data, including passwords.
CNNIC has denied that it was directly involved and said the incident took place when MCS Holdings “improperly issued” certificates that were “only used for internal tests in its laboratory, which is a protected environment.”
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs also dismissed the accusations, with spokeswoman Hua Chunying (華春瑩) telling reporters that “all parties should abandon accusing each other without proof.”
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft