A China-based hacker group called Flax Typhoon has targeted dozens of Taiwanese government agencies with the likely aim of spying on them, Microsoft said on Thursday.
Flax Typhoon, “a nation-state actor based out of China,” has since the middle of 2021 mainly “targeted government agencies and education, critical manufacturing, and information technology organizations in Taiwan,” Microsoft said in a blog post.
The activities observed suggest that “the threat actor intends to perform espionage and maintain access to organizations across a broad range of industries for as long as possible,” the US tech giant said.
Photo: AP
“However, Microsoft has not observed Flax Typhoon act on final objectives in this campaign,” it said.
In addition to government agencies, Microsoft said that Flax Typhoon has also targeted “critical manufacturing and information technology organizations in Taiwan.”
The firm said that outside of Taiwan, there were some Flax Typhoon “victims” in Southeast Asia, North America and Africa.
Last month, Microsoft said that China-based hackers seeking intelligence had breached the e-mail accounts of some US government agencies.
That hacking group — which Microsoft called Storm-0558 — primarily focuses on “espionage, data theft and credential access,” it said.
The company also warned this year that state-sponsored Chinese hackers had infiltrated critical US infrastructure networks, saying this was likely aimed at hampering the US during a conflict.
Microsoft made particular mention of Guam, a US Pacific territory with a vital military base, as a target.
In Taipei, Deputy Minister of Digital Affairs Lee Huai-jen (李懷仁) yesterday said that Microsoft is a tech-affiliated member of Taiwan’s National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center, and the two often share information on cyberdefense.
Taiwan is using the Vulnerability Analysis and Notice System to offer a systemic comparison of vulnerabilities logged with the US’ National Vulnerability Database, Lee said.
This allows the government to isolate and patch breaches immediately, he said.
Technological advances inevitably expose all nations to some form of information security risk, and Taiwan’s unique political and economic situation has made it a constant target, Lee said, adding that Taiwan would continue to work with other countries and exchange information so that every nation can bolster its own cyberdefenses.
Additional reporting by CNA
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