China’s ministry of state security on Monday accused the Taiwanese military of supporting a hacking group called Anonymous 64 that it said was responsible for frequent cyberattacks against Chinese targets.
“This year ‘Anonymous 64’ has frequently launched cyberattacks against mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, trying to obtain control rights to relevant websites, outdoor electronic screens, and online televisions, and afterwards illegally upload content disparaging the mainland’s political system and major policies,” the ministry said in a statement on WeChat.
The ministry, which is responsible for counterintelligence and political security, said that it launched an in-depth investigation into the hacking group’s activities and found that Anonymous 64 was “not a normal hackers’ group but a cyber-army supported by Taiwan independence forces.”
“Taiwan independence forces” is a term often used by Chinese officials to describe the Taiwanese government and military.
The Chinese state security ministry said it had filed a case against three active members of the Taiwanese military’s cyberwarfare command, known as the Information, Communications, and Electronic Force, or ICEFCOM, who are directly involved with Anonymous 64.
ICEFCOM’s spokesperson, Col. Hu Jin-long, denied the accusation and instead accused China of endangering regional peace and security.
Hu said in a statement that the command’s main responsibilities were to maintain the military’s online networks and communications.
“The current hostile situation and cyber threats are serious,” he said.
It was the Chinese military and other forces that “continue to use aircraft, ships and cyberattacks to harass Taiwan and are the originators of undermining regional peace,” Hu added.
China considers Taiwan a Chinese province that should be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary.
What is Anonymous 64?
The group called Anonymous is generally known as a decentralized international hacker-activist movement. Its members have been reportedly involved in a number of cyberattacks on governments and large corporations.
RFA is not able to verify whether Anonymous 64 is a member of the Anonymous movement.
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Anonymous 64 has an account on X, formerly known as Twitter, that was set up in June last year, showing screenshots of its campaigns to broadcast videos commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and pictures criticizing President Xi Jinping on websites of various Chinese media and universities, as well as public TV screens.
It also reposted several links to reports by Radio Free Asia and for some Chinese activists.
Edited by Mike Firn
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Staff.