China attempted to flood online forums with negative and misleading information about the Han Kuang exercises, the Ministry of National Defense communications division said yesterday.
The comments were discovered and removed before they could have any effect, the division said.
The military has been widely praised for its performance during this year’s exercises, which likely caught the attention of hackers working for the Chinese government, the report said.
One military official, who declined to be named, said that Russian is adept at the strategy of using online posts to influence public sentiment, citing the conflict in the Ukraine and elections in France and Germany.
Chinese hackers used the strategy late last year when fake photographs showing Chinese jets flying over Yushan (玉山) were posted online, the official said.
The cyberattacks clearly demonstrate the challenge of maintaining a secure online environment and the National Security Bureau needs to be aware of the issue, the official said.
The five-day Han Kuang exercises ended on Friday.
The military’s media outlets posted video clips daily, as it has done during the exercises for several years.
This year’s use of panoramic photographs and aerial shots proved especially popular with online visitors, the official said, adding that these posts in particular were targeted by China’s hackers.
Minister of National Defense Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬) praised the military’s media outlets and the Voice of Han Broadcasting Network, for their quick updates during the Han Kuang exercises.
The outlets also did a good job of handling the cyberattacks, Feng said.
The attacks came from anonymous users and appeared to be aimed at deflating officers’ morale, he said.
When such propaganda first began online, it was clearly from non-Taiwanese users, as the language was inconsistent with local usage. Later, Chinese hackers learned to imitate Taiwanese and demonstrated strong familiarity with local issues.
The efforts made to imitate Taiwanese users indicate the importance the Chinese place on influencing local public opinion.
Military media outlets’ family-themed videos, such as a series it made for Mother’s Day titled Steel Wife, also came under attack from hackers, the official said.
“No military countermeasures are needed. The public attack the hackers on their own — like a defense ministry of the people,” the official said.
However, the military is actively dealing with hackers through various countermeasures, the official said, adding that it “goes to battle every day.”
“Taiwan is fortunate to be a democracy with such free access to information. Although it is hard to manage at times, the public is getting better at distinguishing real posts from fake ones,” officials said.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
RSS