Taiwan’s collection of cyberhackers may not be sophisticated, but they are “diligent” when it comes to executing attacks on various mainland Chinese targets, according to one of the country’s top cybersecurity experts.
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Zhou Hongyi, chairman of cybersecurity company Qihoo 360 and a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, China’s top political advisory body, said in an interview with Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV that aired on Wednesday that Taiwanese hackers operated at a “below global-average level”.
“They take advantage of the fact that many of our organisations neglect security and fail to apply patches, so even old vulnerabilities can still work for them,” he told the media outlet during an internet security conference in Beijing.
“Their only real advantage is their diligence. They launch attacks on the mainland very frequently and target a wide range of organisations, which is why we’ve collected the most evidence against them,” Zhou was quoted as saying on the conference’s sidelines.
Qihoo 360 was among several Chinese firms added to the US Entity List in 2020. Companies listed on the trade-restriction register have been deemed by Washington as a threat to US national security or foreign policy. Once on the list, the firms cannot receive American goods and technology without a special licence.
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Both sides of the Taiwan Strait have accused each other of cyberspace militarisation, considered part of “grey zone” tactics, or deniable activities intended to disrupt, intimidate or sway opinion without provoking open conflict.