Taipei: Taiwan`s main opposition party Tuesday
accused hackers backed by the Chinese state of stealing information related to its presidential campaign in the run up to elections in January 2012.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which favours
Taiwan`s independence from China, said that in the last four
months, it had traced more than a dozen cyber attacks to
Chinese IP addresses.
It said that hackers mainly targeted its presidential
campaign planning as the party gears up for elections against
the incumbent Ma Ying-jeou of the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang
party.
"We believe it is a common practice for Chinese
authorities to employ hackers to steal information abroad, and
it poses a serious threat to global Internet safety," said spokesman Chen Chi-mai.
The accusation comes after the California-based computer
security firm McAfee said last week that 72 targets across 14
countries were victims of a massive global cyber spying
campaign, with China seen as the likely culprit.
Chinese state media decried that allegation as
"irresponsible".
Taiwan and China have spied on each other ever since
they split in 1949 at the end of a civil war. Beijing still
regards the island as part of its territory awaiting
reunification, by force if necessary.
Observers say the DPP chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen, who is
running against Ma in the elections, is the candidate less
favoured by China.
Taiwan`s government websites have frequently faced cyber
attacks, usually during disputes between the island and the
mainland.
PTI
