Over 6,000 email accounts belonging to Taiwan government agencies hacked by Chinese hacked

Chinese hackers have hacked thousands of Taiwan Government email accounts belonging at least 10 Taiwan government agencies, officials said.

Chinese hackers have gained access to around 6,000 email accounts belonging to at least 10 Taiwan government agencies, officials said.

According to a top Taiwan cyber official, the attacks are part of a cyber espionage campaign. The government of Taipei is still investigating the campaign and assessing its impact, although the cyber official told AFP press agency that the damage done was “not small.”

The Taiwanese Government accuses the Chinese government of continues cyber incursions since 2016 when President Tsai Ing-wen was elected.

“Taipei has accused Beijing of stepping up a cyber campaign since 2016 when Taiwan elected President Tsai Ing-wen, who refuses to acknowledge Beijing’s insistence that the self-ruled democratic island is part of “one China”.” reads the AFP press.

President Tsai always claimed the independence of its country and thanks to its position against Beijing it was voted by its population.

According to the Taiwan Investigation Bureau’s Cyber Security Investigation Office, the China-linked cyberespionage groups tracked as Blacktech and Taidoor have been targeting government agencies and information service providers since 2018. 

“We know for sure that these 6,000 emails have been compromised. We are still assessing the extent of the damage,” the office’s deputy director, Liu Chia-zung, told AFP.

“As far as we know, the damage done by this infiltration is not small.”

“We are making this public because we want to alert everyone of the threat and stop further damage.”

The Chinese government has increased diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan, it also showed the muscles increasing military drills near the country in recent weeks.

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, Taiwan)