The National Security Bureau (NSB) yesterday confirmed that it has stopped allowing downloads of public information from its Web site to prevent hackers from attacking it.
The bureau has said that its Web site and internal Web system have been prime targets among public institutions for cyberattacks, particularly from Chinese hackers.
The Chinese-language Apple Daily quoted a bureau official as saying that canceling the download service would reduce hackers’ attempts to attack the Web site.
“This is all for Web site safety,” said the official, who was not named.
Bureau statistics showed that its Web site was attacked more than 3.27 million times in 2012, with most attacks coming from within Taiwan and from China.
Last year, the bureau was attacked more than 7 million times.
The bureau said that nearly 70 percent of the attacks were attempts to take control of the Web site, 11 percent were viruses, and about 3 percent were attempts to access computer systems and programs.
The bureau said it has put more resources into protecting its computer systems, including carrying out regular systems upgrades to ensure that sensitive information is not compromised.
The bureau also warned that the targeting of Taiwanese Web sites by Chinese hackers could be more serious than ever and threatens the security of not only military secrets, but also the nation’s high-tech and commercial information.
The bureau said Chinese hacking was focused on stealing information before, but the Chinese cyberattacks now could seriously undermine the nation’s infrastructure and transportation systems, as well as financial operations.
The Executive Yuan and the bureau have proposed establishing an information security office to integrate efforts to counter cyberattacks from China, the bureau said.
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