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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 MND slammed over Internet security
BACKDOOR: A professor researching the People’s Liberation Army inadvertently gave Chinese hackers access to a military academy network when he downloaded a program
By Aaron Tu and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer
Legislators yesterday criticized the National Defense University and the Ministry of National Defense （MND） over a lapse in Internet security, saying the ministry must bolster defenses against cyberattacks and develop counteroffensive measures.
The criticism came after the university confirmed earlier yesterday that Chinese hackers accessed one of its computers last month.
A professor associated with the university’s graduate studies on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army （PLA） was downloading a program for research when a backdoor program allowed hackers to access the university network and copy multiple research papers, the university said, adding that the copied files were all published academic data.
Since the hack, the university, in accordance with the ministry’s instructions, has been upgrading its information security hardware, it added.
University Political Warfare Department director Tsai Cheng-tung （蔡承棟） said the school was not at liberty to disclose how many research papers had been copied, but no classified documents were leaked.
“It seems to me that screws are loose and need to be tightened,” Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） Legislator Lu Yu-ling （呂玉玲） said.
Lu said that despite the coding and limited access of all military data, the military still reports numerous incidents of its files being accessed or taken, adding that the National Security Bureau and the National Security Council must establish standard operating procedures to bolster information security.
Democratic Progressive Party （DPP） Legislator Lo Chih-cheng （羅致政） said that while the government was considering creating a military cyberforce department, it should perhaps focus first on information security.
Judging by a slew of recent information security incidents, the ministry clearly lacks a commitment to information security in the armed forces, Lo said, adding that the ministry should increase training for personnel and refine its information security policies.
Lo also called on the ministry to develop systems that would forewarn of cyberattacks, adding that knowing when the enemy strikes is always better than remedying the situation later.
DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu （王定宇） said he had previously suggested that the university’s PLA research course become a research department to help provide more information on the Chinese army.
Wang said the course is very prestigious and only accepts 15 officers and two students from outside the university.
“The incident could cause other nations to question if we are on top of any threats facing our information security systems,” Wang said, adding: “It is also worrying to wonder if the ministry is fully aware of the situation or if it is seeing only the tip of the iceberg.”
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
