Hacking of "sensitive" data of the largest telecommunications company in Taiwan

Hackers hacked "sensitive information", including military and government documents, from Taiwan's largest telecommunications company and sold it on the dark web, the Taiwan Defense Ministry announced, according to Agence France-Presse.

The announcement of the largest data breach on the island came after a report on the local TVBS news channel that the telecommunications giant, Chunghwa Telecom, had been hacked.

The report included a screenshot of a comment in which hackers announced “the sale of 1.7 terabytes of Chunghwa Telecom data,” including government contracts.

The Ministry of Defense confirmed in a statement sent to Agence France-Presse on Friday that “preliminary analyzes in this case showed that the hackers obtained sensitive Chunghwa Telecom information and sold it on the dark web, and (the information) includes documents from the armed forces, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Coast Guard, and other units.”

Taiwan is one of the most prominent targets for cybersecurity attacks in the world, according to experts in the digital data sector. Some say the tactics used against Taiwanese infrastructure bear the imprint of Chinese state-backed groups.

Beijing says that Taiwan is part of its territory, and has pledged to return it to its control, even by force if necessary.

The Taiwanese Ministry of Defense states that an Air Force contract among the leaked documents is “not classified information, so there is no leak of information.” The correspondence between the Navy and Zhonghua did not include any classified information, according to the ministry.

The ministry said: “We asked the contractor concerned to strengthen information security controls to prevent further incidents.”

Neither the ministry's statement nor the TVBS report identified the hackers or their location. Taiwan's Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the hack.

Chunghua, a public joint-stock company, announced in a statement sent to the Taiwan Stock Exchange on Thursday that it had “conducted investigations to clarify the causes of the suspected incident.”

She added: “At the present time, there are no significant repercussions on the company’s operations,” referring to potential losses due to data theft.

Government officials have said that the ongoing cyber threats are a form of “gray harassment” that China engages in on an almost daily basis, including sending planes flying around the island and ships into the surrounding waters.

While these actions do not amount to clear acts of war, they keep the military and cybersecurity agencies on edge, according to experts.

Last year, Microsoft alerted to a threat from a China-based group called Vlax Typhoon targeting Taiwan.

The American technology giant said that Flax Typhoon intended to "practice espionage and access" to various Taiwanese organizations for as long as possible.