The Executive Yuan has launched a special project to improve data protection across government ministries and agencies ahead of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) second-term inauguration on Wednesday, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka said yesterday.
Kolas’ remarks came amid media reports of an alleged cyberattack on the Presidential Office on Friday, in which an e-mail account named “ser lo” purportedly sent members of the media on the office’s contact list files related to the Cabinet member selection for Tsai’s second term and assessments of vice president-elect William Lai (賴清德) from early last year, when he ran against Tsai in the Democratic Progressive Party’s presidential primary.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau on Saturday confirmed that the Presidential Office had reported the incident, adding that it had begun an investigation.
Ahead of the inauguration, the Executive Yuan has initiated a project to combat an increasing number of cyberattacks from overseas, even though the Presidential Office already has a cybersecurity team probing the suspected cyberattack and the Executive Yuan does not plan to intervene in that, Kolas said.
The Executive Yuan has set up a Security Operation Center, which would oversee efforts to protect users in non-military zones when they access government Web sites and defend against distributed denial-of-service attacks, said an Executive Yuan official, who did not want to be named.
Another center that collects and monitors data-related information has also been set up, allowing prompt alerts to be sent to regional servers to curb the spread of computer viruses when malware is detected, the official said.
Separately yesterday, a high-ranking national security official said on condition of anonymity that Friday’s alleged cyberattack was possibly hackers connected to the Chinese Communist Party attempting to hurt morale ahead of the inauguration.
The recipients of the e-mails from “ser lo” included several high-level managers in the local media, the official said, adding that the perpetrators must have been familiar with local media and politics, or been assisted by Taiwanese.
Regarding the new Cabinet, sources said that Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Wellington Koo (顧立雄) would replace David Lee (李大維) as National Security Council secretary-general, while Lee would become the Straits Exchange Foundation chairman.
Former Democratic Progressive Party legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) would become the representative to the US, while Representative to the UK David Lin (林永樂) would retire and his position would be filled by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Kelly Hsieh (謝武樵).
Presidential Secretary-General Chen Chu (陳菊) last night said on Facebook that she would be leaving her position on Wednesday.
Chen reportedly is to be nominated by Tsai to serve as president of the Control Yuan.
Additional reporting by Yang Chun-hui, Lu Yi-hsuan and CNA
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS