Taiwan Opposition Hacked as China's Cyberspies Step Up Attacks
- FireEye says media targeted by China-based cyberhackers
- Gmail accounts of former U.S. diplomat, DPP staff were targets
Buildings stand illuminated at night in Taipei, Taiwan.
Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/BloombergChinese hackers have attacked Taiwanese targets including local news organizations and the opposition Democratic Progressive Party in a bid to get information about policies and speeches ahead of presidential and legislative elections next month.
An attack on the unnamed media outlets came in the form of phishing e-mails with the subject line "DPP’s Contact Information Update," according to research by security company FireEye Inc., which identified a Chinese state-backed group called APT16 as carrying out attacks. Hackers also infiltrated e-mails of party staff, changing security protocols and writing messages spoofing the account holders in what may have been an attempt to deliver malicious code, according to one of the victims.