Chungwwa Telecom, Taiwan’s largest telecommunications company, recently was attacked by hackers, allegedly linked to the Chinese government. The cyber attack resulted in the theft of 1.7 TB of data, including sensitive information related to the state structure of the island.
The stolen data was advertised for sale on the internet on February 23, 2024, by a user known as “303” with the moniker “Monogon.” It is suspected that Monogon is the leader of a hacker group operating under that name.
On March 1, Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense officially confirmed the cyber attack. An internal investigation revealed that the hackers were able to access confidential information from Chungwa Telecom.
The compromised data included classified documents from the Taiwan armed forces, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Coast Guards, and other government entities. While the Ministry of Defense maintains that no secret information was exposed, they have called for Chungwa Telecom to enhance cybersecurity measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
The incident underscores the increasing threat of cyber attacks in international relations, particularly amidst the tensions between Taiwan and China. This raises suspicions of potential involvement by the Chinese government in the attack.
Such cyber security breaches pose risks to national security and highlight the necessity of fortifying cybersecurity measures both at the state level and within the private sector.