The National Security Bureau (NSB) believes that the Chinese military has shifted the emphasis of cyberattacks on Taiwan from government institutions to civilian think tanks, telecommunications service providers, Internet node facilities and traffic signal control systems, according to an NSB report.
The report on the country’s measures to stem attacks by China’s hackers was prepared for lawmakers’ reference ahead of a scheduled legislative hearing on the issue tomorrow that will be attended by NSB, Ministry of National Defense and Criminal Investigation Bureau officials.
Amid the public’s growing reliance on the convenience of online networks, Taiwan’s heavy dependence on technology means threats to Internet security are increasing, the bureau said.
Private think tanks, information technology businesses or outsourced factories and businesses, less well-defended network nodes, factory-grade microcomputer controllers, cloud storage and traffic signal switches may be targeted instead of governmental facilities and embassies, the bureau said in the report.
The bureau also cautioned that social media may be used to get close to personnel in sensitive or key positions to gain access to their computers to further penetrate the nation’s Internet defenses.
The hackers’ goal is to acquire as much control as possible over internal Internet systems before trying to steal or forge information, or paralyze Internet communications, the bureau said in the report.
According to the bureau, since 2002, China has extended its cyberarmy and now there are more than 100,000 people working for it, with Beijing budgeting more than NT$80 million (US$2.71 million) a year for the hackers.
As an agency of national defense, the bureau is a long-term and dedicated target of Chinese hackers and was hit 3.34 million times last year, the bureau said.
However, it said the actions were reconnaissance rather than actual attacks.
About 70,000 malignant attacks — averaging 209 a day — were all successfully averted, the bureau added.
The bureau takes cyberdefense seriously and has allocated funding over the past three years to purchase specialized equipment, such as defensive software systems, as well as prioritizing the limitation and scanning of outgoing documents, the bureau said.
In a special note, the bureau said telecommunication providers should prioritize national defense over financial gains, adding that the providers should try to strengthen and implement Internet security protocols in accordance with government policies.
Meanwhile, the Executive Yuan’s Information Security Office said in a report that among all government units, only the Council of Agriculture and the Executive Yuan itself have met information security standards.
Saying the situation was unsatisfactory, the Executive Yuan said that branches of the government should seek to have every office, branch or unit under their jurisdiction pass the Information Security Management System testing standards to ensure online security.
Additional reporting by CNA
WHEELING AND DEALING? Hou You-yi, Ko Wen-je, Eric Chu and Ma Ying-jeou are under investigation for allegedly offering bribes for the other side to drop out of the race Taipei prosecutors have started an investigation into allegations that four top politicians involved in attempts to form a “blue-white” presidential ticket have contravened election regulations. Listed as defendants are Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the KMT and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲). The case stemmed from judicial complaints filed last month with the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office alleging that the KMT (blue) and the TPP (white) had engaged in bribery by offering money or other enticements
ELIGIBLE FOR JANUARY: All presidential candidates and their running mates meet the requirements to run for office, and none hold dual citizenship, the CEC said Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator and vice presidential candidate Cynthia Wu (吳欣盈) is working with the Central Election Commission (CEC) to resolve issues with her financial disclosure statement, a spokesman for the candidate said yesterday, after the commission published the statements of all three presidential candidates and their running mates, while confirming their eligibility to run in the Jan. 13 election. Wu’s office spokesman, Chen Yu-cheng (陳宥丞), said the candidate encountered unforeseen difficulties disclosing her husband’s finances due to being suddenly thrust into the campaign. She is also the first vice presidential nominee to have a foreign spouse, complicating the reporting of
GOOD NEWS: Although open civic spaces are shrinking in Asia-Pacific countries and territories, Taiwan’s openness is a positive sign, an expert said Taiwan remains the only country in Asia with an “open” civic space for the fifth consecutive year, the Civicus Monitor said in a report released yesterday. The People Power Under Attack 2023 report named Taiwan as one of only 37 open countries or territories out of 198 globally, and the only one in Asia. Compiled by Civicus — a global alliance of civil society organizations dedicated to bolstering civil action — the ranking compiled annually since 2017 measures the state of freedom of association, peaceful assembly and expression around the world. Researchers assign each country or territory one of five rankings describing the
NOT JUST CHIPS: Although semiconductor processes are on the list, it also includes military technology and post-quantum cryptography to combat emerging cyberthreats The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) yesterday released a list of 22 technologies it considers crucial to the nation’s security and competitiveness, including the 14-nanometer semiconductor process and advanced chip packaging. For the first time, the council made a list of core technologies with an aim of preventing secret information about those technologies being leaked to foreign countries, which could put the nation’s security and the competitiveness of local industries at risk. For years, local semiconductor companies have faced challenges from talent poaching and theft of corporate secrets by Chinese competitors, who are seeking to rapidly advance their technology capabilities through
RSS