Hackers obtained sensitive Chunghwa Telecom information and sold it on the dark web. (representative)
Taipei, Taiwan:
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said hackers stole “sensitive information” from Taiwan’s largest telecommunications company, including military and government documents, and sold them on the dark web.
The latest major data breach in the democratic island nation has been confirmed after local news channel TVBS reported that telecommunications giant Chunghwa Telecom was hacked.
The report includes a screenshot of a post in which the hackers announced they were “selling 1.7 terabytes of Chunghwa Telecom’s data,” which included government contracts.
In a statement to the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Defense confirmed that “a preliminary analysis of the case is that hackers obtained sensitive information from Chunghwa Telecom and sold it on the dark web, including information from the Armed Forces, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Coast Guard and other units. document”. AFP Friday.
Digital data experts say Taiwan is one of the biggest targets of cybersecurity attacks in the world. Some believe the tactics being used to target Taiwan’s infrastructure are characteristic of Chinese government-sponsored groups.
Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under its control.
The Defense Department added that an Air Force contract included in the China leak “is not classified information and therefore no information was leaked.”
The defense ministry said communications between the naval department and China Airlines also did not contain classified information.
“We have asked relevant contractors to strengthen information security controls to prevent further incidents,” the statement said.
Neither the department’s statement nor the TVBS report revealed the identities of the hackers, nor their locations.
Listed company China announced in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange on Thursday that it had “conducted an investigation to clarify the cause of the suspicious incident.”
“At this time, there is no significant impact on the company’s operations,” it said, referring to potential losses from data theft.
Administration officials say the ongoing cyber threats are a form of “grey zone harassment” that China engages in on an almost daily basis, including flying warplanes around the island and sending ships into surrounding waters.
Experts say that while there are no overt acts of war, the tactics are enough to put Taiwan’s military and digital security agencies in trouble.
Last year, Microsoft pointed to threats from a Chinese group called “Flax Typhoon” targeting Taiwan.
The US tech giant said Flax Typhoon intends to “conduct espionage and maintain access to various Taiwanese organizations” for as long as possible.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
