A large amount of information was leaked in a hacking breach of city computers, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday.
The mayor said that a city investigation into a breach of city secretariat computers last week had revealed a “troublesome” leak of substantial information.
Taipei Department of Information Technology Commissioner Lee Wei-bin (李維斌) said a list of city department heads along with confidential information about them had been compromised.
The leak could complicate management of the city’s extensive use of messaging app Line groups by potentially allowing hackers to assume the names of secretaries to “friend” commissioners and their staff, he said.
Special caution would need to be taken over management of the groups to verify the identity of all their members, given that anyone within the groups could add new members, he added.
He said that to avoid further breaches, the department intended to install additional monitoring equipment to detect unusual activities on city systems.
A “backdoor” that infected the city secretariat’s computers was undetected using existing antivirus software, he said.
The city would review the existing divisions between computer systems among the city’s departments, secretariat and the mayoral office, he added.
In response to criticism from Taipei city councilors that the city government’s extensive use of Line groups creates security risks, Lee said there was an implicit tradeoff between perfect security and administrative efficiency.
Because Ko was already used to using the Line software and has already introduced it extensively within the city government, it would be costly and time-consuming for the city government to switch to using messaging software designed and hosted domestically, he said.
He added that the department was moving to impose clearer standards for Line usage.
In addition to current requirements that the service not be used for sending classified information, the city’s Line groups would be required to have designated members responsible for policing membership lists, he said.
Lee dismissed city councilors’ concern that a lack of rules requiring the preservation of Line records would allow the city government to hide important information from council purview.
He said Line conversations were confidential in the same manner as telephone calls or private discussions within the city government have been, while final decisions by the city government would still be recorded in official documents that are available to councilors.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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