Taiwan Telecom Targeted in Suspected Chinese Cyberattack

Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan’s largest telecommunications company, recently suffered a cyberattack allegedly orchestrated by the Chinese government. This breach resulted in the theft of 1.7 TB of data, encompassing information about the island’s governmental structure.

The compromised data was put up for sale on the dark web on February 23, 2024, by a user named “303” with a “Monogon” avatar, presumably the moniker of the hacking collective behind this operation. Furthermore, this individual’s profile claims the leadership of Monogon.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense formally acknowledged the breach on March 1st. Preliminary findings from an internal investigation revealed that hackers had accessed confidential information from Chunghwa Telecom.

Reportedly, the stolen data included classified documents from Taiwan’s armed forces, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Coast Guard, and other government agencies. Nevertheless, Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense asserts that no secret information was disclosed.

In response to this incident, the country’s Ministry of Defense has urged Chunghwa Telecom to bolster its cybersecurity measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. The company implicated in the leak is now required to significantly tighten its information protection controls.

This case underscores the escalating threat of cyberattacks in international relations, especially amidst the tensions between Taiwan and China, assuming China is indeed involved in this assault.

Such incidents not only pose risks to national security but also raise questions about the importance of strengthening cybersecurity in both the governmental and private business sectors.