Taiwan government accuses China of cyberattack, claims 6,000 email accounts compromised

Taiwan government has accused China of launching a cyberattack on its agencies. According to reports, Chinese hackers allegedly infiltrated 10 Taiwanese government agencies and gained access to 6,000 email accounts in an attempt to steal data from the authorities.

The full impact and damage of the alleged security breach is still being investigated by authorities. While China considers Taiwan to be a part of its mainland and has vowed to see it return under its control, the island views itself as de facto independent.

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Hackers attempted to steal data

Officials reported the data breach on August 19 and claimed that the damage done by the hack was substantial. Taiwan has accused China of launching constant cyberattacks since 2016, ever since President Tsai Ing-wen was elected. The Taiwanese leader has repeatedly refused to acknowledge that the island is part of ‘one China’.

Tsai Ing wen was re-elected in January and returned to office with a landslide victory that is seen as a strong statement by the people of Taiwan against China's intimidation tactics. The cyberattack reports come just a week after US health secretary Alex Azar's historic visit to Taiwan which angered Beijing.

In recent weeks, China has increased diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan and is reported to have begun conducting military drills near the island in South China Sea. As per reports, China has also breached Taiwan’s air defence zone several times in recent weeks.

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US Conducts military drills in South China Sea

A US Navy aircraft carrier conducted maritime exercises in the South China Sea on Friday, August 14. According to a statement by the US Navy, the strike group that carried out the exercises were led by the USS Ronald Ragan. The United States' flight operations and high-end maritime stability operations in the highly contested waters of the South China Sea comes amidst deteriorating relations between the United States and China.

While China has long laid claims to the South China Sea, the United States has opposed these claims and sent warships to guard the contested waters. China has staked claims to nine-tenths of the South China Sea; the resource-rich waters see approximately $3 trillion worth of trade pass through it every year.

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