The National Security Bureau (NSB) Web site was attacked more than 35,000 times in the first half of this year, with 30 percent of the attacks originating in China, a report said yesterday.
The Chinese-language Apple Daily said that statistics from the bureau showed its Web site was attacked 35,638 times from January through June, translating into one attack every 25 minutes.
NON-STOP
Based on Internet provider 10,346 attacks came from China. In other words, Chinese hackers attacked the bureau’s Web site 2.38 times per hour.
The bureau said all 35,638 attacks were identified and blocked.
Seventy-seven percent of the attacks were attempts to take control of the Web site, 11 percent were viruses and 3 percent were attempts to access computer systems and programs.
The report cited bureau’s officials as saying that computer warfare was a significant threat to national security, as successful intrusions could result in the acquisition of classified information.
As such, the bureau has put an increasing amount of resources into protecting its many computer systems, including making regular systems upgrades to ensure the security of sensitive information.
NATIONAL SECURITY
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) was quoted as saying that most hackers attempted to access computer systems solely for the thrill of intrusion and proving their hacking skills, adding that there was often no political purpose behind such attacks.
Nevertheless, Lin said, Taiwan could not rule out the possibility that the Chinese government was behind at least some of the attacks, particularly considering their sustained nature.
Former Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) yesterday said Chinese hackers were notorious for targeting Taiwan’s national security apparatus, including the Ministry of National Defense and the NSB.
COMPUTER WARFARE
Although it is widely accepted that the President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration has improved cross-strait relations demonstrably and both expanded and improved contacts with Beijing, Chinese computer warfare against Taiwan has continued regardless of such overtures, Chai said.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai