Cybersecurity investigators have identified a Chinese hacker using the handle “OKE” as the prime suspect in the biggest data leak in Taiwan’s history.
OKE offered a cache allegedly containing the personal information of 23.56 million Taiwanese for US$5,000 on the Breach Forums hacker marketplace in October last year, sparking concern about national security, lack of oversight and data management negligence by government agencies.
Investigators have identified OKE as a Chinese hacker in his 20s, the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau’s Cyber Security Investigation Office said in a news release on Friday.
Photo: Taipei Times files
The case is being handled by the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. The suspect could be charged with contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) and offenses relating to computer security in the Criminal Code. Prosecutors have issued an immigration control bulletin against him.
Investigators said that the hacker used virtual currency to receive and transfer payments through a digital wallet registered in China, which contains his national identification number and other personal information.
Investigators said they were able to ascertain the hacker’s gender, year of birth, province of residence and other personal data.
OKE provided a subset of 200,000 records so that buyers on Breach Forums could check the authenticity of the data.
The subset contained the data of a number of central and local government officials, investigators said.
An analysis found that the data were based on household registration records from before April 2018, although some deviations from the original entries were found, meaning it is possible the information was stolen from other government agencies, investigators said.
Prosecutors would continue to monitor the money flowing through OKE’s digital wallet and bank accounts, officials said.
“I don’t understand why the Taiwan government is so stupid. The KYC certification system is an easy thing for everyone here,” OKE wrote on Breach Forums on Monday.
He said his digital wallet is not as easy to track as the government claims, and he has a system in place to avoid being monitored.
Officials called on all government agencies and businesses to boost private data protection, enhance cybersecurity awareness among employees and keep backup data.
They reminded the public that it is illegal to sell, purchase or access private citizens’ information without authorization, while stolen data sets being sold on hackers’ forums could also contain malware and viruses.
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
The annual Taipei Summer Festival, which starts today, is to tone down its fireworks displays, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said on Monday. Fireworks displays are to be held at the riverside site in Datong District’s (大同) Dadaocheng (大稻埕) area on four days at this year’s festival, with the first today, and then on Wednesday next week, July 31 and Aug. 10, the department said. There were eight displays last year, with the reduction aimed at minimizing inconvenience to local residents, it said. The first three shows, which are all on Wednesdays, are to last for five minutes, while the final
EYE ON MAYORS: The DPP would file a complaint with the Control Yuan against Ko and Chiang over their handling of reports of abuse at a preschool in the city The Taipei City Government’s belated response under Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) and his predecessor, Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), to alleged child sex abuse at a kindergarten resulted in more children being victimized, two Taipei City Councilors said yesterday. A Taipei preschool teacher has been charged with sexually abusing six children from 2021 to last year at a school registered to his mother. Prosecutors are reportedly considering additional charges amid a wave of new accusations allegedly linking the suspect to 20 other abused children and the discovery at his residence of more than 600 sexually explicit videos featuring minors. The