Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported that China may have developed cyberattack technologies enabling it to intervene in neighboring countries’ politics. It is believed that China may have used Cambodia’s July 29 general election as a rehearsal, giving it the potential to interfere with intelligence collection and political elections in Asian countries in the future. According to the report, the practices include obtaining confidential information by illegal means, releasing false web information to manipulate voter psychology, and influencing the outcome of the elections by polarizing the target country’s public opinion and attacking the opposition camp.
The report expressed the suspicion that China set up its cyber warfare command center on Hainan Island. The evidence is an email received by Kem Monovithya, the daughter of Kem Sokha, the leader of Cambodia’s largest opposition party. The e-mail carried a virus that was capable of collecting confidential information. An Investigation showed that the server that the email was sent from is located on Hainan Island, China. Based upon the technology and hardware infrastructure, the investigation concluded that the email was undoubtedly linked to China.
This Hainan-based server, according to the report, was found to infringe frequently on Cambodian facilities. It is quite possible that China is using the Cambodian election as a drill to improve its cyber-attack technology. The ultimate goal may be to use the Internet to intervene in the politics of neighboring countries. This practice could be just treading on the heels of Russia.
Source: Radio France International, August 20, 2018
http://rfi.my/31Xx.T