Chief of the general staff Gen. Tang Yao-ming (
"With telecommunication eavesdropping and computer crimes becoming rampant across the globe, the enemy [China] will surely take advantage of the easily accessible global computer network to undertake all sorts of sabotage attempts against Taiwan through the deployment of computer viruses or `logic bombs,'" Tang said.
"If that happens, the armed forces' command, intelligence, logistics and management systems could be dangerously undermined, and their civilian equi-valents would be seriously affected as well," he said.
Tang's warning echoed that of defense minister Tang Fei (
Officials say that China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has not only established a "defense technology information center" to oversee the development of information warfare strategies, but also launched "live-fire" information warfare-related drills earlier this year.
Cross-strait skirmishes between Taiwanese and Chinese hackers, who infiltrated each others's Web sites in early August, made headlines as tensions rose in the wake of President Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) "two states" declaration on cross-strait policy.
To cope with the threat of hacker attacks and other types of information warfare launched by China, Gen. Tang said "the military has to build up its computer network security and management in the days to come."
As part of its efforts, the military has arranged lectures on computer network security for its leadership at various levels across the country. The first lecture in the series was given yesterday at a military site in Taipei, with Tang in attendance to highlight the importance of the occasion.
Maj. Gen. Abe C. Lin (
But Lin admitted that the security of the internal system could be compromised.
"Past records indicate human error accounts for over 70 percent of information-related problems nationwide," Lin said. "Besides the establishment of security, protection, and emergency mechanisms for its information systems, the military has to pay special attention to personnel discipline."
A military official, who declined to be identified, said the armed forces had considered developing a variety of counter-attack measures against the PLA with the help of Chen Yin-hao (陳盈豪), the man who designed the infamous Chernobyl virus.
That virus, one of the most powerful computer bugs ever invented, reportedly paralyzed millions of computers around the world.
However, the military's project was called off after plans were leaked to the media, the official said.
Lin said the military is not planning to launch any pre-emptive strikes against China, for fear such a campaign might get out of control.
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