China ups cyber attacks on Taiwan

Taiwan is bracing for an onslaught of cyber attacks from mainland China ahead of local elections in November intended to undermine a president who has defied Beijing’s efforts to bring the democratically ruled island under its control.

China, along with Russia and North Korea, may be increasingly testing out cyber hacking techniques in Taiwan before using them against the U.S. and other foreign powers, according to the Taiwanese government. The tests involve new malware tools mostly used to target government agencies including Taiwan’s foreign and economy ministries, said Howard Jyan, director general of its cyber security department.

“Based on matching patterns, sophistication and other characteristics it’s likely that the majority of the cyber attacks come from groups supported by China,” Jyan told Bloomberg News. “We believe the number of cyber attacks will rise before the elections. Hackers and organizations will try to intervene.”

Since taking office in May 2016, President Tsai Ing-wen and her Democratic Progressive Party have refused to recognize the Beijing government’s claim to Taiwan.

Beijing considers the island part of its territory, to be unified by force if necessary.

China has responded with a multi-pronged effort to squeeze her administration: Chipping away at the number of its diplomatic partners, ramping up military exercises in the Taiwan Strait, and pressuring foreign airlines and hotels to refer to Taiwan as part of China.