Premier William Lai (賴清德) yesterday requested that government agencies review the nation’s information security after Far Eastern International Bank (遠東商銀) reported that its system was hacked earlier in the week.
The premier was fully briefed on the incident and instructed the government to learn from the case and tighten information security by closing vulnerabilities, Cabinet spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said.
Far Eastern on Friday said it reported to the Financial Supervisory Commission that malware had been implanted in its computer system, which affected some of its PCs and servers, as well as the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) network.
Photo: Chiu Chun-fu, Taipei Times
SWIFT is a members-only organization that provides safe and secure financial transactions for its members via a standardized proprietary communications platform, which can facilitate the transmission of information about financial transactions.
Through the malware, hackers conducted virtual transactions to move funds totaling nearly US$60 million from Far Eastern clients’ accounts to foreign destinations such as Sri Lanka, Cambodia and the US, the bank found on Tuesday.
However, the bank said that due to its efforts to trace back the lost funds, the cyberattack cost the bank less than US$500,000.
As efforts to trace the lost funds by underpinning certain fund movements continue, the loss could be reduced to zero, it added.
The hacking did not lead to any leaks of client information, Far Eastern said.
Far Eastern vice president Liu Lung-kuang (劉龍光) yesterday told reporters that the origin of the malware has not been confirmed, but added that the bank is sure that the malicious software used to attack the transaction system is a new variety that had never been seen before.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau yesterday said that it has launched an investigation into the cyberattack and requested that the bank submit details about its computer operations after it reported the case to the bureau on Thursday.
The bureau said it has also informed the International Criminal Police Organization, commonly known as Interpol, of the case and asked for assistance.
Due to the international assistance, the bureau said Far Eastern’s losses are expected to be less than US$500,000, adding that similar hacking cases were reported in Vietnam and Bangladesh in 2015 and last year.
It was the first case in which malware was implanted into a Taiwanese bank’s computer network to transfer massive amounts of funds out of clients’ accounts.
The commission said that it was an isolated case, adding that no other incidents have been reported in the nation.
Far Eastern will have to shoulder all of the responsibility for the incident and bear all possible losses so that its clients’ interests will not be affected, the commission said.
The commission said it has asked Far Eastern to submit a comprehensive report on the incident to determine whether the bank should face regulatory punishment.
The commission has asked all banks in the nation to tighten controls on transactions during the ongoing four-day Double Ten National Day holiday.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS