Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) officials yesterday confirmed that the digital display networks of several 7-Eleven outlets and a Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) station had been hacked, displaying messages attacking US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday, despite warnings and threats from Beijing, which said it would consider her visit a major provocation.
Digital displays at several 7-Eleven outlets displayed a message in Chinese that read: “Warmonger Pelosi get out of Taiwan,” with an image of her grimacing face.
Photo grab from the Baofei Commune Facebook page
The bureau said the server of the chain stores’ contractor had been hacked.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) said it was most likely the handiwork of Chinese hackers, who also targeted Kaohsiung’s New Zuoying Railway Station, whose digital display showed a message in simplified Chinese calling Pelosi an “old witch.”
“This is an attack on Taiwan through cyberwarfare. It is very serious, and we must find ways to block it and take countermeasures,” Chao said.
Photo copied by Cheng-feng, Taipei Times
“Taiwan is facing a hooligan country, and such large-scale hacking could be the initial phase of Chinese military maneuvers,” he added. “It has happened to 7-Eleven stores, which shows that any smart online network operated by the government and private sectors could be disabled and shut down by hackers. Taiwan must deal with this scenario in our military wargames.”
The bureau said that Taipei-based Hsuan Yang Advertising Co, which operates the Taiwan Railways Administration’s signboards, was hacked at about 10am yesterday.
Railway officials said they cut off the signboard’s power quickly, and alerted its contractor to shut down all operating signboards while it worked on the problem.
The TRA said its Web site and database were not compromised as they run on a different network.
Experts said the hacking incident exposed possible problems, such as the likelihood of the contractor having links to China or Chinese funding, or that the TRA did not strictly require compliance with regulations banning the use of China-made hardware and software.
As many devices are linked via Internet-of-Things networks and passwords can be easily hacked, it is concerning that the railway network, a part of the nation’s basic infrastructure, is vulnerable to intrusion by hackers and that other government sites might also be compromised, they said.
Additional reporting by AFP
Taiwan does not exclude the possibility of having formal diplomatic relations with countries that also have formal ties with China, regardless of Beijing’s stance, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said on Sunday. There was speculation in 2012 that Honduras was attempting to have simultaneous diplomatic relations with Taiwan and China, an idea that then-minister of foreign affairs David Lin (林永樂) rejected. Honduras severed formal ties with Taiwan on Sunday morning after establishing diplomatic relations with Beijing. President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration has taken a more practical approach to relations with like-minded countries since assuming government in 2016. Previous administrations took the
Seven senior faculty members, including the principal, of a high school in Taichung were temporarily suspended from their jobs on Friday, pending an investigation by the Taichung Education Bureau into alleged bullying and abuse that led to the suicide of a student last month. The city’s education officials were too slow to suspend those involved, the student’s father told a news conference on Wednesday, at which Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) and members of the Humanistic Education Foundation were also present. The boy had been a good student and a high achiever during elementary and junior-high, and had
Taiwan would have established formal relations with Argentina long ago if not for China’s interference, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Yui told US-based Spanish-language online news outlet Infobae in an interview published on Tuesday. Beijing has left behind a string of unfulfilled promises in Latin America, including pledges to build the Grand Nicaragua Canal and airports, docks, ports and industrial zones in El Salvador, he said. Meanwhile, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico and other countries enjoy pragmatic and improving relations with Taiwan based on cooperation on the economy, culture, technology and science, he said. While Taiwan is “happy to live and let live,”
WASHED ASHORE: Of the 16 bodies discovered along Taiwan’s west coast this month, two were Vietnamese and five were Taiwanese, coast guard officials said Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang (蔡清祥) said that he has instructed prosecutors and maritime authorities to launch investigations after 16 bodies were found along Taiwan’s west coast this month, amid speculation that they were victims of smuggling or human trafficking rings. Coast Guard Administration (CGA) officials said the bodies, most of which had washed ashore, were found by coast guard personnel and local residents along the coastline from Keelung to Kaohsiung. Thirteen of the bodies are male and three are female, the CGA said, adding that items found on the bodies indicate that two of the men were Vietnamese, while three men
RSS