TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A pro-Russian hacker group on Monday (Sept. 9) began a series of cyber attacks on government websites purportedly in retaliation for President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) comment about China seeking to reclaim territory ceded to Russia.
Cybersecurity company Radware was cited by Liberty Times as saying the group “NoName057” launched a large-scale cyberattack on Taiwan. At 7 p.m. Monday, the tax bureau websites of Taichung, Taitung County, and Lienchiang County were hit by a suspected DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack and were inaccessible.
Radware said the attack appeared to be related to Taiwan's support for Ukraine. In an interview on the Era TV program “The View with Catherine Chang," which aired on Sept. 1, Lai argued that China’s intention to annex Taiwan is not truly about territorial integrity: “Otherwise, why not reclaim the land ceded to Russia in the Treaty of Aigun during the Qing Dynasty?”
Radware's tracking showed that NoName057 targeted tax departments in: New Taipei, Keelung City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Changhua County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung, Taitung County, and Lienchiang County.
Radware also revealed that NoName057 had recently launched a new DDoS botnet attack called “DDoSia.” This targeted several entities in Taiwan, mainly government tax agencies.
As for the rationale behind targeting tax bureaus, cybersecurity experts told the newspaper that even before it invaded Ukraine, Russia targeted Ukraine’s banks and civil service agencies with cyberattacks. These institutions directly affect public services, leading to speculation that banks could be the next targets.
In a tweet posted on Monday, NoName057(16) claimed that in the previous week, Lai had suggested China “take away Russia's land in the Far East.” It alleged that Lai's comment “reflects the ‘virtual reality’ in which such satellite countries are immersed.”
On Tuesday (Sept. 10), the hacker group said it “continued to smash Taiwan's internet infrastructure.”
It claimed Wednesday to have caused the websites of Taiwan's “critical infrastructure” to crash. The sites it claimed to have attacked included the Supreme Court, Ministry of Justice, Taiwan Financial Services Roundtable, Chailease Holding Co., Ministry of Finance eTax Portal, Taoyuan Metro, and Hualien Airport.
