The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau is investigating a claim on an international online forum that offered classified Taiwanese intelligence files for sale.
The bureau issued a statement about the probe yesterday after the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the sister paper of the Taipei Times) reported earlier in the day that the advertisement published on the forum was for confidential documents allegedly from the nation’s intelligence agencies.
The report quoted a seasoned military analyst with the pseudonym “Malan” as saying that the posting provided snippets of the information, detailing people the agencies have gathered intelligence on.
Photo: screen grab from the breached.vc Web site
It was not immediately known why these people were targeted, but the information included descriptions of the work, hobbies, politics and personalities of the targeted people.
For example, one post described someone as “facing a diminished income” and “intending to go to China in the future for further development,” while another described another person as “a business professor who is active in cross-strait exchanges” and their “outward showing is not obvious, although they harbor ideology inclined toward Taiwan independence,” the report quoted “Malan” as saying.
The seller is asking for US$150,000 for 10 gigabytes of classified data, the report said.
The bureau yesterday said it is aware of the situation and is investigating the advertisement, but that it could not disclose details of an ongoing probe.
It does not matter whether the data was leaked or obtained by a hacker, the incident still constitutes a breach of national security, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said yesterday.
As such, national security officials must take responsibility and give the public an explanation as soon as possible, he added.
DPP Legislator Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳) called for answers to a few questions, including why national intelligence information was posted on a foreign Web site in the first place.
Officials should also explain whether an individual or a group is responsible, and whether it is true or false information intended to create disorder, he added.
Additional reporting by Chen Yu-fu
CELEBRATION: The PRC turned 75 on Oct. 1, but the Republic of China is older. The PRC could never be the homeland of the people of the ROC, Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could not be the “motherland” of the people of the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks in a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei, which is part of National Day celebrations that are to culminate in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on Thursday night next week. Lai wished the country a happy birthday and called on attendees to enjoy the performances and activities while keeping in mind that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation. He appealed for everyone to always love their
FIVE-YEAR WINDOW? A defense institute CEO said a timeline for a potential Chinese invasion was based on expected ‘tough measures’ when Xi Jinping seeks a new term Most Taiwanese are willing to defend the nation against a Chinese attack, but the majority believe Beijing is unlikely to invade within the next five years, a poll showed yesterday. The poll carried out last month was commissioned by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a Taipei-based think tank, and released ahead of Double Ten National Day today, when President William Lai (賴清德) is to deliver a speech. China maintains a near-daily military presence around Taiwan and has held three rounds of war games in the past two years. CIA Director William Burns last year said that Chinese President Xi Jinping
MAKING PROGRESS: Officials and industry leaders who participated in a defense forum last month agreed that Taiwan has the capabilities to work with the US, the report said Taiwan’s high-tech defense industry is to enhance collaboration with the US to produce weapons needed for self-defense, the Ministry of National Defense said in a report to the Legislative Yuan. Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Yen-pu (徐衍璞) discussed building regional and global industry alliances with US partners at the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference in Philadelphia held from Sept. 22 to Tuesday last week, the ministry said in the declassified portion of the report. The visit contributed to maintaining bilateral ties, facilitated Taiwan’s efforts to acquire weapons and equipment, and strengthened the resilience of the two nation’s defense industries, it said. Taiwan-US ties
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that China has “no right to represent Taiwan,” but stressed that the nation was willing to work with Beijing on issues of mutual interest. “The Republic of China has already put down roots in Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu,” Lai said in his first Double Ten National Day address outside the Presidential Office Building in Taipei. “And the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China [PRC] are not subordinate to each other.” “The People’s Republic of China has no right to represent Taiwan,” he said at the event marking the 113th National Day of
RSS