FSC calls for stronger information security after hacker attacks

Taipei--Taiwan's top financial regulator on Monday called on financial institutions to strengthen their information security to protect the rights of clients and investors after a securities firm reported an attack by hackers earlier in the day.

Capital Securities Corp. said its online transaction system suffered a cyber attack for about 20 minutes after the Taiwan Stock Exchange opened for trading at 9 a.m. on Monday.

The system was restored to normal at 9:30 a.m., according to the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC).

The FSC issued the call for measures to reduce cyber risks after several securities companies said they received threats followed by attacks to their online transaction systems last week.

The hackers also demanded that the firms each pay 10 bitcoins, worth roughly NT$320,000 (US$10,377), or face another attack that would paralyze their online trading systems, according to the FSC.

The FSC said it was monitoring further developments and has asked the financial services sector to step up information security measures to protect client and investor rights.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel