China’s attempts to hack Taiwanese databases did not halt regardless of the state of cross-strait relations in the past eight years, as Beijing epitomizes Sun Tzu’s (孫子) maxim in the Art of War (孫子兵法): “Know your enemy,” Premier Simon Chang (張善政) said in an exclusive report published by the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper).
Taiwan’s information security systems found traces of Chinese hackers every time a cross-strait negotiation event occurred over the past eight years, primarily in the systems of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Premier Simon Chang (張善政) said.
“Chinese cyberattacks have not been deterred by the calming of cross-strait relations as Beijing wishes to know what we are doing and our modes of thought, especially during negotiations,” he said.
The information obtained might not be used during the actual negotiation, but officials might be completely unaware that their limits or strategies are already known by China, Chang added.
While saying that Chinese probably do not have access to Taiwan’s policies and decisions on the draft cross-strait service trade accords and the draft cross-strait goods trade accords, Chang said that there is no way of being absolutely certain.
The policies of the incoming government might discourage Chinese from hacking if it has no plans to negotiate or interact with China, but the attacks could come in a different form, Chang said.
Chang said that cyberattacks came in two ways — one in which Web sites crash or get a denial of service or distributed denial of service (DDOS) message, and the other in which backdoors are opened into Web sites that allow hackers to steal sensitive information.
An index on Chinese hacking activity would depend on whether Taiwan’s Web sites are attacked openly — such as the Presidential Office’s Web site displaying the People’s Republic of China (PRC) national flag — which might indicate that more subtle hacking is also in progress, Chang said.
China’s efforts at bypassing Taiwan’s firewalls are mostly custom-designed and are extremely hard to detect, Chang said, adding that over the years, Taiwan has uncovered many different methods that are being noticed by other nations.
Chang said that after his dealings with information security, he does not harbor impractical illusions toward China and is of the mind that it is, for the most part, unfriendly toward Taiwan.
Chang said he counts the abolition of regulations on the establishment of the information security center as one of the greatest regrets during his term as premier, adding that the incoming government should seek to retain these regulations and staff.
He said that the staff at the center were the most experienced in dealing with Chinese hackers and they would be of invaluable service to the nation.
When asked whether Taiwan should be on alert in terms of corporations and the Chinese market, Chang said Taiwanese companies are even more concerned than the government over their goods or technologies slipping out of their fingers, adding that all the government had to do was hear what the companies and corporations are saying.
Chang also said that it is highly likely that Taiwanese Web sites would be targeted over the recent World Health Assembly issue, as China might be “afraid that we would say things we should not.”
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS