A pro-Russia hacker group has launched a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on the Taiwanese government in retaliation for President William Lai’s (賴清德) comments suggesting that China should have a territorial dispute with Russia, an information security company said today.
The hacker group, NoName057, recently launched an HTTPs flood attack called “DDoSia” targeting Taiwanese government and financial units, Radware told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times).
Local tax bureaus in New Taipei City, Keelung, Hsinchu and Taoyuan were mentioned by the hackers. Only the Hsinchu Local Tax Bureau site appeared to be down earlier in the day, but was back up by the afternoon.
Photo: screen grab from Telegram
NoName057 released DDoSia as a DDoS attack toolkit in 2022 for use against critics of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Taiwan faces cyberattacks from overseas because of its special political situation, the Ministry of Digital Affairs’ Administration for Cyber Security said.
The agency is getting information through exchanges with other countries and has notified relevant authorities to deal with the situation, it said, but added that the information must remain confidential.
Radware said that the attack might be related to Taiwan’s support for Ukraine and Lai’s comment on Chinese and Russian territory during an interview last week.
“Last week, Taiwan’s president suggested that China should take away Russia’s land in the Far East,” NoName057 said on Telegram. “This statement reflects the ‘virtual reality’ in which such satellite countries are immersed.”
“One of our tasks is to remind such Taiwanese that they are just a pawn in this game, taking advantage of US protectionism in the international arena,” the group added. “Beijing’s control over the island is only a matter of time.”
NoName057 usually targets countries that support Ukraine, attacking their financial sectors, public infrastructure, communication services and media outlets, Radware said.
The hacker group has attacked Ukrainian and Canadian government Web sites, and Czech presidential candidates’ Web sites, the company said.
Speaking on cable TV network ERATV's The View with Catherine Chang last week, Lai said that China's aim of annexing Taiwan was not driven by concerns for "territorial integrity."
"If it is really about territorial integrity, why don't they take back the land that was signed away and occupied by Russia in the Treaty of Aigun?" Lai asked, referring to the 1858 treaty signed by the Qing Dynasty that ceded about 600,000km² of land in Manchuria to the Russian empire.
Beijing wishes to annex Taiwan because it wants to "transform the rules-based global order" and "achieve hegemony," not because of concerns over territorial integrity, Lai said.
Additional reporting by Kayleigh Madjar, CNA and Reuters
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
RSS