Taipei [Taiwan], March 7 : The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) confirmed yesterday that it was targeted by hackers from China but assured that no data was compromised. This follows a Wednesday indictment in the US of a group of alleged Chinese hackers who supposedly aimed at US government agencies, MOFA, and several other foreign governments, according to a report by Taipei Times.
US federal authorities have charged 10 individuals with collaborating to illegally access data from their targets and have imposed sanctions on a Chinese tech firm due to what they described as a prolonged espionage campaign that resulted in the theft of information both in the US and globally, as reported by Taipei Times.
As per the Taipei Times, eight of the indicted individuals were employed by Anxun Information Technology, commonly referred to as i-Soon, while two were affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Public Security.
The indictment, along with a separate announcement from the Manhattan District Attorney's office, indicated that i-Soon is recognized as "a significant player in the PRC's [People's Republic of China's] hacker-for-hire ecosystem," as cited by Taipei Times.
These cyberattacks targeted the US Defense Intelligence Agency, the US Department of Commerce, and the foreign ministries of Taiwan, South Korea, India, and Indonesia, as well as news outlets critical of China and the New York State Assembly, according to the report from Taipei Times.
The ministry stated that it has consistently been a target of Chinese cyberattacks due to the sensitive nature of its operations. It confirmed awareness of these hacking attempts and mentioned that a comprehensive investigation had been initiated, concluding that none of the attempts to breach its system were successful, as highlighted by Taipei Times.
According to the Taipei Times report, the international community holds a strong disdain for Chinese hacking attempts. The ministry added in a statement that it recognized the recent US indictment as a move to bring the accused hackers to justice.
MOFA expressed its commitment to collaborate closely with like-minded nations to enhance information security and counter cyberattacks from authoritarian regimes, as noted in the statement from Taipei Times.
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