A 23-year-old college student was released on NT$100,000 bail on Wednesday night, as investigators probe allegations that he gained unauthorized access to Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp’s (THSRC) radio communication network, disrupting railway services.
The incident occurred at 11:23pm on April 5, when the high-speed rail’s operations control center received an alarm from a handheld radio belonging to its maintenance department, causing three operating trains to halt for emergency stops, THSRC said in a statement.
Normal train services resumed at 11:43pm, after inspections were completed, the company said.
Photo courtesy of the Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office via CNA
The operations control center later tried to contact the person who sent the alert message, who gave contradictory statements and avoided further discussions by terminating radio communication, it said.
After ascertaining that all of its handheld radio devices were in place and functioning normally, the company reported the case to the police on April 6, and sought assistance from the Railway Police Bureau and the Criminal Investigation Bureau’s Electronic Investigation Brigade.
The Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said that police identified a suspect, a male college student surnamed Lin (林). He was taken into custody on Wednesday afternoon.
Police secured warrants to search his residence and workplaces, and confiscated radio communication and electronic devices, the prosecutors’ office said.
Lin, a radio enthusiast, reportedly studies at a university in central Taiwan. He is suspected of using his radio equipment to impersonate high-speed rail radio parameters.
Lin is suspected of contravening the Railway Act (鐵路法) for unlawfully exploiting computer system’s vulnerabilities to intrude into the core information and communication systems of important railway institutions, facilities or equipment, and by unlawfully using other electromagnetic methods to interfere with railway-related equipment and impair its normal operations, prosecutors said.
He is also suspected of breaching the Criminal Code for endangering public transportation.
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