Chinese hacker groups attempted to infiltrate via e-mail specific targets in the government, academia and political circles, who were lured by documents discussing Taiwan-China geopolitical issues that were infected files containing malware, an investigative report by cybersecurity firm Trend Micro said.
The report revealed a series of attacks on Taiwanese targets by the Chinese group Earth Lusca, known to engage in cyberespionage activities, by using a “social engineering” tactic which works by manipulating or deceiving a victim into making security mistakes to gain control of a computer, or to steal personal and financial information.
Trend Micro identified a paper titled “China’s gray zone warfare against Taiwan,” reportedly stolen from a Taiwanese geopolitical expert, as the source of the infection, which was sent by Earth Lusca via e-mail.
Photo: Reuters
The report, citing another file targeting Taiwan that contained a folder named “Sino-Africa relations,” said Earth Lusca was also behind that attack, specifically targeting a Taiwan-based think tank that studies international relations.
The campaign was active from December last year until January, the period leading up to the nation’s presidential and legislative elections.
The report said there is a significant connection between Earth Lusca and I-Soon (安洵信息) a Chinese government-affiliated firm, evidenced by the overlap in malware, targets and IP addresses based in Chengdu, China.
Trend Micro warned publicsector organizations, businesses and individuals to be aware of this new form of attack, calling on them not to open suspicious links or documents from unfamiliar e-mail addresses.
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
A strong continental cold air mass and abundant moisture bringing snow to mountains 3,000m and higher over the past few days are a reminder that more than 60 years ago Taiwan had an outdoor ski resort that gradually disappeared in part due to climate change. On Oct. 24, 2021, the National Development Council posted a series of photographs on Facebook recounting the days when Taiwan had a ski resort on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County. More than 60 years ago, when developing a branch of the Central Cross-Island Highway, the government discovered that Hehuanshan, with an elevation of more than 3,100m,
Taiwan’s population last year shrank further and births continued to decline to a yearly low, the Ministry of the Interior announced today. The ministry published the 2024 population demographics statistics, highlighting record lows in births and bringing attention to Taiwan’s aging population. The nation’s population last year stood at 23,400,220, a decrease of 20,222 individuals compared to 2023. Last year, there were 134,856 births, representing a crude birth rate of 5.76 per 1,000 people, a slight decline from 2023’s 135,571 births and 5.81 crude birth rate. This decrease of 715 births resulted in a new record low per the ministry’s data. Since 2016, which saw
SECURITY: To protect the nation’s Internet cables, the navy should use buoys marking waters within 50m of them as a restricted zone, a former navy squadron commander said A Chinese cargo ship repeatedly intruded into Taiwan’s contiguous and sovereign waters for three months before allegedly damaging an undersea Internet cable off Kaohsiung, a Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) investigation revealed. Using publicly available information, the Liberty Times was able to reconstruct the Shunxing-39’s movements near Taiwan since Double Ten National Day last year. Taiwanese officials did not respond to the freighter’s intrusions until Friday last week, when the ship, registered in Cameroon and Tanzania, turned off its automatic identification system shortly before damage was inflicted to a key cable linking Taiwan to the rest of
RSS