The National Security Bureau (NSB) has announced that it plans to amend the Government Password Standardization Act (政府機關密碼統合辦法) and design a new defense mechanism to shield government Web sites and systems from Chinese hacking.
The changes would step up the enforcement of regulations and offer incentives for civil servants to observe rules for protecting classified materials, the bureau said.
Local and overseas government units were found to be lax in managing and safeguarding information, and have an outdated concept of security, the bureau said, adding that overseas personnel do not observe necessary security protocols when handling classified materials or equipment.
Photo: Tu Chu-min, Taipei Times
Some personnel even use classified equipment for personal use, which increases the risk of leaking classified information, it said.
“This laxness amid efforts by China to hack into our government information systems is quite alarming,” the bureau said.
Government agencies at every level must enforce security protocols and defense mechanisms for the proper handling of classified equipment, the bureau said.
The array of equipment and environments has necessitated the amendments, which would give agencies a reference to follow to mitigate risks, it said.
Passage of the amendments would ensure that encoding; research and development for new codes; and verification processes adhere to regulations and at least meet safety standards of a certain level, it added.
Oversight agencies must ensure that units’ efforts are improved if found to be deficient, the bureau said.
The amendments say that an emergency that compromises the safety of classified equipment and documents would require their evacuation or immediate destruction.
A joint task force would be established to oversee all password-related affairs for overseas units, including the allocation, or recall and destruction, of classified equipment, they say, adding that the task force would assemble and maintain security-related hardware.
Recent cases of suspected Chinese hacking have included a Nov. 7 claim made on Facebook by National Sun Yat-sen University associate professor Chen Chih-chieh (陳至潔) that university professors specializing in political science or cross-strait studies have had their e-mails monitored — some for up to three years — by someone posing as a school official.
National Defense University military instructor Chang Ling-ling (張玲玲) on Tuesday last week said that she has witnessed two hacking incidents.
In 2005, a Chinese Trojan horse program embedded in an e-mail was sent to the university’s staff e-mail system and gained access to the network, she said.
In 2008, Chinese hackers sent her two e-mails in Korean, Chang said.
The first e-mail — whose senders were aware that she was in South Korea at the time — said that she was being sued and included a file that was supposedly a litigation notice, while the second e-mail said that she was being offered a position to teach Korean at an unnamed university in Taiwan, she said.
NETWORK-MAPPING PROJECT: The database contains 170 detailed files of Taiwanese politicians and about 23 million records of household registration data in Taiwan China has developed a network-mapping project targeting political figures and parties in Taiwan to monitor public opinion during elections and to craft tailored influence campaigns aimed at dividing Taiwanese society, according to documents leaked by Chinese technology firm GoLaxy (中科天璣). The documents, collected by Taipei-based Doublethink Lab, showed a database was specifically created to gather detailed information on Taiwanese political figures, including their political affiliations, job histories, birthplaces, residences, education, religion and a brief biography about them. Several notable Taiwanese politicians are in the database, including President William Lai (賴清德), former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍),
KEY INDUSTRY: The vice premier discussed a plan to create a non-red drone supply chain by next year, which has been allocated a budget of more than NT$7.2 billion The government has budgeted NT$44.2 billion (US$1.38 billion) to cultivate Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) industry over the next five years, which would make the nation a major player in the industry’s democratic supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Cho made the remarks during a visit to the facilities of Cub Elecparts Inc (為升電裝). Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Yi-fong (謝依鳳) also participated in the trip. Cub Elecparts has transitioned from the automotive industry to the defense industry, which is the top priority among the nation’s
UPGRADED MISSILE: The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is reportedly to conduct a live-fire test of the Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile on Thursday next week The US Army is planning to build new facilities to boost explosives production and strengthen its supply chain, a move aimed at addressing munitions shortages and supporting obligations to partners including Taiwan, Ukraine and Israel, Defense News reported. The army has issued a sources sought notice for a proposed Center of Excellence at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, the report said. The facility would serve as a hub within the US industrial base for the production of key military explosives, including research department explosives (RDX) and high melting explosives (HMX), while also supporting research and development of next-generation materials. The proposed
SOUTH KOREA DISPUTE: If Seoul continues to ignore its request, Taiwan would change South Korea’s designation on its arrival cards, the foreign ministry said If South Korea does not reply appropriately to a request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, the government would take corresponding measures to change how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. Taipei has asked Seoul to change the wording. Since March 1, South Koreans who hold government-issued Alien Resident Certificates (ARC) have been identified as from “South Korea” rather than the “Republic of Korea,” the
RSS