Chinese hackers increase attacks on Taiwan opposition before January’s presidential election: US security firm
Phishing e-mails sent in attempt to get information about policies and speeches, says FireEye, which has identified a Chinese state-backed group called APT16 as carrying out attacks
Chinese hackers have attacked Taiwanese targets including local news organisations and the opposition Democratic Progressive Party in a bid to get information about policies and speeches ahead of presidential and legislative elections next month.
An attack on the unnamed media outlets came in the form of phishing e-mails with the subject line “DPP’s Contact Information Update”, according to research by American security company FireEye, which identified a Chinese state-backed group called APT16 as carrying out attacks.
Hackers also infiltrated e-mails of party staff, changing security protocols and writing messages spoofing the account holders in what may have been an attempt to deliver malicious code, according to one of the victims.
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Taiwan goes to the polls January 16 and opinion surveys show the DPP is likely to win a legislative majority, with its leader Tsai Ing-wen securing the presidency after eight years of nationalist Kuomintang rule.
China, which considers Taiwan to be one of its provinces, is wary of the DPP’s views on Taiwan independence and advocacy of more caution in its relationship with the mainland.
As well as not wanting the DPP in power, China might want to understand the party better so as to undermine them with access to non-public information, Jordan Berry, FireEye’s principal threat intelligence analyst said. “There’s a lot of people in China who want and need information for their own intelligence purposes.“
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China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not reply to a faxed request for comment.
