The website of Taiwan's Central Broadcasting System (CBS) was hacked last month, with the homepage replaced by the Five-Star Flag, and it was discovered that an insider was involved; the implicated employee has now been suspended.
CBS issued a statement on its official website, saying that on the evening of September 11th, it discovered that its official website had been infiltrated by unknown individuals, and the header of the homepage was replaced. The station had proactively provided information to notify the police and prosecutors, requesting the initiation of an investigation.
The station also said that staff worked together to resolve the obstacle and carry out repairs; after emergency handling, the website resumed normal operation that night. However, it stated that since the report to the authorities, the website had continued to suffer from malicious attacks, at all hours for several days, which seriously affected the radio station's operation and reputation.
According to reports from Taiwan's United Daily News and Liberty Times, the website homepage was replaced with a Five-Star Flag featuring the words "Counterattack the Mainland." After receiving the report, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office instructed the Taipei City Criminal Investigation Division to investigate, launching two searches and summoning CBS website administrator Wu Zhengxun, his supervisor Yue Zhaoju, and vendor Huang Fulin for explanations; all three were released on bail after questioning.
Sources say that the three originally intended to launch another attack on Double Tenth Day, but failed as they had already been summoned for investigation. Prosecutors consider the case serious, filed an appeal on the 13th, and are continuing to track down the hackers behind the scenes as well as possible internal involvement.
On Monday, CBS issued another statement announcing that the implicated employee has been suspended, that the cybersecurity firewall has been comprehensively strengthened, and that a lawyer has been appointed to file charges against the persons involved for alleged breaches of trust, damage, interference with computer use, among other offenses. The station called on judicial, prosecutorial, and investigative agencies to continue handling the case and to thoroughly investigate whether the persons involved had accomplices or whether external forces were involved.
CBS also said that regarding the website’s compromise, which caused reputational and financial losses to the station, damages have been compiled for estimation, and a civil compensation claim will be made at the appropriate time.
CBS is classified as a critical infrastructure for national security and was established with government funding.