MND computers found infested with Trojan horse

MND spokesman Wu Chi-fang said a USB drive and a notebook computer in the care of two military academy instructors were found to be infested with a Trojan horse program, which can potentially harm the computer if the program is activated by the computer user.

MND said that the two instructors had taken the two portable devices from their office to their homes against regulations after which the hardware was connected to their home computers.

The ministry said that the Trojan horse program might have already been attached to the home computer via the Internet before the portable hardware was connected.

MND said that the portable hardware contained information on the upcoming Hang Kuang exercise, an annual drill by the military simulating an attack by mainland China, as well as information on an electronic information system linking the MND with the U.S. military.

Reports said that the portable devices also contained information on the Yushan evacuation plan, in which the president and other government officials are transported in armored vehicles from the president’s official residence to a command center in Tachih, Taipei in the event of an attack by mainland China.

Due to the potential leak, an exercise simulating the Yushan evacuation plan has been pushed forward to tomorrow by the latest, according to reports.

Wu said that the information that may have been leaked will not greatly affect the Hang Kuang exercise or the electronic information system.

Leaked information on the Hang Kuang exercise may not be as damaging as that on the electronic information system which would require a large amount of work to restructure in the event of a leak, reports said.

National Security Agency’s Liu So-chung said that the agency has full knowledge of the incident which affects national security and said that the MND has plans to deal with the situation.

The Trojan horse program was discovered on the two instructors’ portable hardware after it was connected to the military computer system’s mainframe, the MND said.

The MND said that the two instructors who have violated information security regulations are being investigated in the potential leak.

The ministry said also that it does not know whether the Trojan horse program originated from mainland China.

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