The Ministry of Foreign Affairs today said it was targeted by Chinese hackers, but no information was stolen, after several news reports said that the US charged Chinese hackers for targeting foreign government agencies including the ministry.
The ministry said it has always been a target for Chinese cyberattack due to its sensitive nature, adding that it had been made aware of the hacking attempts.
The ministry said that it has launched a thorough investigation and determined none of the attempts to hack into the system were successful.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) hacking activity is despised by the international community and is sanctioned by the US, it said, adding that it would continue to work with like-minded countries to resist Internet hacking from the authoritarian country and strengthen its information safety collaboration mechanism.
Chinese hackers have relentlessly attacked government agencies, basic infrastructure and financial institutions in democratic countries worldwide, it said.
The ministry said it has established an information security mechanism and a control center to monitor the situation around the clock.
The ministry’s response came after Washington yesterday announced indictments against a slew of alleged Chinese hackers, sanctioning a Chinese tech company and offering a US$10 million bounty over what the US called a years-long spy campaign that stole information from people around the world.
US federal officials accused 10 people of collaborating to steal data from their targets. Eight of the suspects worked for the company I-Soon (安洵信息) and two worked for the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, they said.
An indictment yesterday described I-Soon as "a key player in the PRC's hacker-for-hire ecosystem."
Hackers’ targets included the US Defense Intelligence Agency, the US Department of Commerce, the foreign ministries of Taiwan, South Korea, India and Indonesia, news organizations critical of China, and the New York State Assembly, they said.
Hackers also targeted a variety of religious figures and groups, including an unidentified "large religious organization in the United States," according to the indictment and a separate statement issued by the Manhattan District Attorney's office.
I-Soon charged Chinese intelligence agencies about US$10,000 to US$75,000 for each e-mail inbox it hacked, with additional payments for analyzing them, the indictment says.
The Chinese embassy in Washington said it opposes the sanctions and "long-arm jurisdiction" against Chinese entities and individuals.
"China will take necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and citizens," it said in a statement.
Also yesterday, US Treasury said it was sanctioning a Shanghai-based company and its owner over the alleged theft and sale of data from "highly sensitive US critical infrastructure networks."
US Treasury in a statement said that it was sanctioning the Shanghai Heiying Information Technology Co (上海黑鷹信息技術公司) and its founder, Zhou Shuai (周帥), for "selling illegally exfiltrated data and access to compromised computer networks."
At least some of the data was later acquired by a previously sanctioned Chinese hacker named Yin Kecheng (尹克成), who was implicated in the theft of data from US Treasury, it said.
Zhou and Yin were also indicted.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
POLICY UNCHANGED? Despite Trump’s remarks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured that US policy toward Taiwan has remained consistent since the 1970s US President Donald Trump on Wednesday again refused to make clear his stance on protecting Taiwan from a hypothetical takeover by China during his presidency. Asked by a reporter during a Cabinet meeting whether it was his policy that China would never take Taiwan by force while he is president, Trump declined to give a definitive answer. “I never comment on that,” he said. “I don’t comment on it because I don’t want to ever put myself in that position.” Trump also reiterated that he has a “great relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and said that Washington welcomes good relations with
RSS