Taiwan confirms failed hacking attempts after U.S. indicts Chinese hackers

Taipei, March 6 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Thursday confirmed it was targeted by Chinese hackers but stressed no information was stolen, after a group of alleged Chinese hackers were indicted in the United States on Wednesday for targeting American government agencies, MOFA and several other foreign governments.

Federal officials accused 10 people of collaborating to steal data from their targets and sanctioned a Chinese tech company over what they termed as a years-long spying campaign that stole information from victims across America and around the world.

Eight of the suspects worked for Anxun Information Technology, better known as i-Soon, and two worked for the Chinese Ministry of Public Security.

According to the indictment and a separate statement issued by the Manhattan District Attorney's office, i-Soon is described as "a key player in the PRC's hacker-for-hire ecosystem."

These hacking attempts targeted the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the foreign ministries of Taiwan, South Korea, India, and Indonesia, news organizations critical of China and the New York State Assembly.

Asked to comment, MOFA on Thursday said the ministry has always been a target for Chinese cyberattack due to its sensitive nature.

MOFA confirmed that it had been made aware of the hacking attempts and said it has since launched a thorough investigation and determined none of the attempts to hack into the system were successful.

In its statement, MOFA said Chinese hacking attempts are "despised" by the international community and it acknowledged the recent indictment in the U.S. as an effort to hold the alleged hackers accountable.

MOFA said it will continue to work closely with like-minded countries to jointly enhance information security and combat cyberattacks initiated by authoritarian regimes.