The Presidential Office, the ministries of health and welfare, foreign affairs and the Interior, as well as the Financial Supervisory Commission, were the government agencies most targeted by hackers last year, a high-level government source said.
The government classifies information security incidents into four levels based on their severity, with level 1 being the lightest and level 4 being the most severe.
A level 1 incident involves temporarily disabling or defacing a Web page, while level 2 and level 3 incidents refer to crashing the secondary and the main system respectively.
Photo: Lin Yen-tung, Taipei Times
Taiwan has not had a level 4 incident, which would be when the core systems of more than one government agency crash, and state secrets are stolen.
Last year, 151 incidents were reported by ministries and agencies overseen by the Executive Yuan — 116 level 1 incidents, 31 level 2 incidents and four level 3 incidents — government data showed.
Malware was found last year in the health ministry’s core information security system, which had apparently been implanted to steal information on Taiwanese covered by the National Health Insurance (NHI) program, a senior government official said on condition of anonymity.
“Fortunately, we were able to stop the level 3 attack before the NHI information could be snatched,” the official said, adding that Chinese hackers were believed to be behind the attack.
The foreign ministry, the interior ministry and the commission all experienced a level 3 attack last year, the official said.
The attack on the foreign ministry targeted the travel information of Taiwanese registered with the Bureau of Consular Affairs, while the interior ministry’s automatic immigration clearance system at the nation’s airports was hit, the official said.
Hackers targeting the commission stole NT$1.8 billion (US$60.27 million at the current exchange rate) from Far Eastern International Bank (遠東商銀), they said.
The Presidential Office was targeted seven times — six at level 1 and one at level 2.
The cyberattacks targeting its information security system had a low success rate thanks to its extensive protection measures, they said.
CSBC Corp, Taiwan (台灣國際造船) yesterday released the first video documenting the submerged sea trials of Taiwan’s indigenous defense submarine prototype, the Hai Kun (海鯤), or Narwhal, showing underwater navigation and the launch of countermeasures. The footage shows the vessel’s first dive, steering and control system tests, and the raising and lowering of the periscope and antenna masts. It offered a rare look at the progress in the submarine’s sea acceptance tests. The Hai Kun carried out its first shallow-water diving trial late last month and has since completed four submerged tests, CSBC said. The newly released video compiles images recorded from Jan. 29 to
DETERRENCE EFFORTS: Washington and partners hope demonstrations of force would convince Beijing that military action against Taiwan would carry high costs The US is considering using HMAS Stirling in Western Australia as a forward base to strengthen its naval posture in a potential conflict with China, particularly over Taiwan, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. As part of its Indo-Pacific strategy, Washington plans to deploy up to four nuclear-powered submarines at Stirling starting in 2027, providing a base near potential hot spots such as Taiwan and the South China Sea. The move also aims to enhance military integration with Pacific allies under the Australia-UK-US trilateral security partnership, the report said. Currently, US submarines operate from Guam, but the island could
RESTRAINTS: Should China’s actions pose any threat to Taiwan’s security, economic or social systems, China would be excluded from major financial institutions, the bill says The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the PROTECT Taiwan Act, which states that Washington would exclude China from participating in major global financial organizations if its actions directly threaten Taiwan’s security. The bill, proposed by Republican Representative Frank Lucas, passed with 395 votes in favor and two against. It stipulates that if China’s actions pose any threat to Taiwan’s security, economic or social systems, the US would, “to the maximum extent practicable,” exclude Beijing from international financial institutions, including the G20, the Bank for International Settlements and the Financial Stability Board. The bill makes it clear that China must be prepared
Taiwanese trade negotiators told Washington that Taipei would not relocate 40 percent of its semiconductor production to the US, and that its most advanced technologies would remain in the nation, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said on Sunday. “I told the US side very clearly — that’s impossible,” Cheng, who led the negotiation team, said in an interview that aired on Sunday night on Chinese Television System. Cheng was referring to remarks last month by US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, in which he said his goal was to bring 40 percent of Taiwan’s chip supply chain to the US Taiwan’s almost
RSS