The military held its first-ever anti-hacker drill on Wednesday and Thursday, Ministry of National Defense (MND) officials said yesterday.
The drill was part of the annual Han Kuang Military Exercise.
"We need constant protection for confidential information stored on computers" Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (李傑) said. "Our tactics can only be fully understood and carried out when confidential information is secure."
The anti-hacker drill was kept secret and information relating to it was not revealed until the Military News Agency announced it yesterday.
According to the ministry, the Chinese military officially established an "Internet force" in 1999.
The Chinese group is responsible for hacking into computer systems and networks, manipulating, stealing or deleting classified information and installing fake orders and misleading information to confuse a potential enemy's leadership, the ministry said.
MND computers recently came under attack from an unidentified hacker, allegedly from China. The attacker hacked into a computer in the MND's spokesman's office and forwarded viruses to reporters through the office's e-mail list.
The ministry said that in the wake of attempts to hack into the MND's computer system, it had established its own Internet squad to prevent future hacking activities as well as to upgrade information security to counter potential threats from China.
MND officials said that including the drill as part of the annual Han Kuang Military Exercise was a way of raising awareness of the dangers of "careless leaks" of classified information via the Internet.
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