{"id":1447327,"date":"2024-01-02T18:25:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-02T23:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/?p=1447327"},"modified":"2024-01-02T18:25:00","modified_gmt":"2024-01-02T23:25:00","slug":"with-elections-looming-taiwan-battles-massive-cyber-threat-cybersecurity-expert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/with-elections-looming-taiwan-battles-massive-cyber-threat-cybersecurity-expert\/1447327\/","title":{"rendered":"With Elections Looming, Taiwan Battles Massive Cyber Threat: Cybersecurity Expert"},"content":{"rendered":"

With Elections Looming, Taiwan Battles Massive Cyber Threat: Cybersecurity Expert<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Authored by Venus Upadhayaya via The Epoch Times<\/a> (emphasis ours),<\/em><\/p>\n

With Taiwan\u2019s elections just two weeks away, concerns about Chinese interference in the elections have become more prominent.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A man votes in New Taipei City, Taiwan, on Nov. 26, 2022. (Annabelle Chih\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The Chinese Communist Party\u2019s (CCP\u2019s) fourth-ranking leader, and its lead in charge of Taiwan affairs, Wang Huning, convened a meeting of various departments in late November to discuss CCP influence operations in Taiwan. A senior Taiwanese security official shared news of the meeting with a group of selected media earlier this month, according to CNN.<\/p>\n

A scholar from Taiwan\u2019s Institute of National Defense and Security Research told The Epoch Times in an exclusive interview that the CCP\u2019s agenda for manipulating the January elections has turned Taiwan into the \u201cmost dangerous place in cyberspace.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWith fast developments in AI tools, new types of malicious software, [and the] criminal chain of Ransomware as a Service [RaaS], Taiwan is suffering from more diverse cyber attacks,\u201d according to Wu Tsunghan, an assistant research fellow with the institute.<\/p>\n

Mr. Wu shared his viewpoints in a conference jointly organized by New Delhi\u2019s Jawaharlal Nehru University and the Taiwanese mission on Dec. 9. He reminded the gathering that Taiwanese businesses were attacked 3,245 times every week on average in the first half of 2023.<\/p>\n

Overall, 15,000 cyber threats were detected every second during the same period, making Taiwan the most attacked location in Asia-Pacific cyberspace, <\/strong>according to Fortinet, a U.S. cybersecurity firm.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Taiwanese security expert told reporters that Mr. Wang, who became head of Taiwanese affairs earlier in 2023, has instructed officials to \u201cstep up their effectiveness\u201d in influencing Taiwan\u2019s public opinion, ahead of the Jan. 13 elections.<\/p>\n

A longtime advisor to CCP head Xi Jinping, who personally chairs China\u2019s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Mr. Wang also acts as the deputy head of the group. He directed his staff to reduce any likelihood of external parties uncovering evidence of CCP interference in Taiwan, according to reports.<\/p>\n

Representatives of Taiwanese civic organizations call on all candidates for the November nine-in-one elections to sign the “Defend Taiwan and Never Surrender” pledge, in a joint press conference in Taipei on Sept. 5, 2022. (Shih-chieh Lin\/The Epoch Times)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Disinformation Campaign<\/h2>\n

Mr. Wu said that Chinese meddling in Taiwanese elections most importantly includes \u201cmaking confusion\u201d by stirring up society. As an example, he cited a cyber incident in which a Dec. 6 social media post accused the Taiwanese government of monitoring the Taiwanese public.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it true or not? How to verify? Who can verify? Can the verification be trusted?\u201d<\/strong> said Mr. Wu during the conference.<\/p>\n

He noted that the Chinese regime tries to use information to influence people\u2019s minds and behavior.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf true, it refers to [a] data leak [from] government agencies. If not true\u2014Why at this time? Who\u2019s operating it?\u201d he said, adding that the purpose can be to undermine public trust in the government.<\/p>\n

He gave the example of another disinformation campaign that accused the Taiwanese government of wanting to import Japanese nuclear waste to Taiwan.<\/p>\n

Disinformation is spread through the Chinese-speaking world by social media platforms popular in Taiwan such as Facebook, which shared images and false information from Chinese platforms like Weibo or Douyin, according to a report by the Taiwan FactCheck Center (TFC).<\/p>\n

\u201cNonetheless, while Chinese narratives attempted to feed increasing anti-Japan sentiment in China, Taiwanese ones exploited Taiwanese citizens\u2019 long-standing concern about food safety and criticized the government led by the Democratic Progress Party (DPP) for being soft on Japan,\u201d said the Sept. 18 report authored by Wei-Ping Li.<\/p>\n

An erroneous narrative circulating in Taiwan concerned\u00a0Yasuhiro Sonoda<\/a>, a Japanese politician who was said to have died from multiple myeloma in 2020 because he drank treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis rumor has persisted in social media like Weibo, Douyin, Facebook, and LINE, for years and has lately become prevalent again<\/strong>. It wasn\u2019t until this September that Kyodo News was able to contact Mr. Sonoda confirmed he was still alive,\u201d said the TFC report.<\/p>\n

Something similar happened during the visit of Taiwanese vice-president, Lai Ching-te, to Paraguay in August to attend the inauguration of Paraguayan President Santiago Pe\u00f1a Palacios.<\/p>\n

Paraguay is part of a dwindling group of governments\u2014currently only 12\u2014that continue to have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Mr. Pe\u00f1a had visited Taiwan in July and had promised President Tsai Ing-wen that his country would \u201cstand with the people of Taiwan\u201d during his five-year term.<\/p>\n

Mr. Wu said a fake news report began circulating claiming that Taiwan was going to provide funding to build free housing for Paraguay.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes providing funding to other countries \u2026 some people might [wonder why] Taiwan is providing funding to other countries when we are facing such challenges as high house prices and [when] the salary is not good<\/strong>,\u201d he said, adding that this bit of misinformation directly targeted the reputation of the Taiwanese government, as well as its relationship with Paraguay.<\/p>\n

According to Mr. Wu, such \u201cdisinformation campaigns\u201d accelerate during times like the visit of top Taiwanese leaders to the United States and vice-versa, and during national elections.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really depends upon the context, purpose, and what kind of goal the attackers want to achieve,\u201d he said.\u00a0It\u2019s difficult to find the source of disinformation campaigns like this, and by the time it is uncovered, it has already made an impact on the public and cast doubt on Taiwan\u2019s democratic system of government.<\/p>\n

Chinese meddling in Taiwanese elections also came up during Xi\u2019s visit to San Francisco for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November. After his meetings with the Chinese leader, President Joe Biden told reporters on Nov. 16 that he had discussed the matter with the Chinese leader.<\/p>\n

\u201cI made it clear: I didn\u2019t expect any interference, any at all. And we had that discussion as\u2014as he was leaving<\/strong>,\u201d Mr. Biden said.<\/p>\n

Taiwan’s Vice President Lai Ching-te and running mate Hsiao Bi-Khim pose for a photo after registering for the upcoming presidential election at the Central Election Commission in Taipei, Taiwan, on Nov. 21, 2023. (Ann Wang\/Reuters)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The SSF and Base 311<\/h2>\n

China\u2019s cyberwar operations against Taiwan, which are currently at their peak, are managed by the People\u2019s Liberation Army Strategic Support Force (SSF), and Base 311, a unit based in Fujian that focuses on Taiwan, Mr. Wu said.<\/p>\n

According to Mr. Wu, Base 311 has its own media company. Dedicated to the implementation of the \u201cThree Warfares\u201d strategy\u2014public opinion or media warfare, psychological warfare, and legal warfare\u2014it creates an ecosystem that feeds media in Taiwan. Base 311\u00a0has at least six regiments overseeing the three types of warfare, as well as multiple forms of propaganda.<\/p>\n

The latter is fed by China Huayi Broadcasting Corporation (CHBC), which the Global Taiwan Institute defines as Base 311\u2019s commercial front.<\/p>\n

\u201cIts coverage of Taiwan is routinely negative, often highlighting political contention and social issues<\/strong>,\u201d according to a 2017 report by the Washington-based non-profit.<\/p>\n

Mr. Wu said China\u2019s propaganda operations against Taiwan are encompassed by its \u201ccyber approach\u201d which he described as one of the means of \u201cPLA invasion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCognitive warfare and disinformation integrates cyber, information, psychological, and social engineering attacks, and can operate in synchronization with other physical means aiming to affect attitudes and behavior of the targeted individual or group to gain advantage,\u201d said Mr. Wu, adding that this cyber approach has been the crux of China\u2019s pre-election influence operations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nTue, 01\/02\/2024 – 13:25<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200bhttps:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/geopolitical\/elections-looming-taiwan-battles-massive-cyber-threat-cybersecurity-expert<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With Elections Looming, Taiwan Battles Massive Cyber Threat: Cybersecurity Expert Authored by Venus Upadhayaya via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), With Taiwan\u2019s elections just two…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1447327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1447327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1447327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1447327\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1447327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1447327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1447327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}