Taiwanese authorities charge two executives who helped China’s cyber spies collect sensitive information.

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A Chinese-linked network impersonated a prominent Taiwanese magazine editor and international investigative journalists in an effort to collect sensitive information from political and academic figures in Taiwan, authorities said. 

Investigators said multiple people received emails and LINE messages claiming to come from the editor of CommonWealth Magazine or members of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Some messages contained links with malicious software designed to infect devices and steal data. Prosecutors traced the operation to Abigail, a Taiwanese company that allegedly helped collect mobile phone numbers and LINE accounts for use by the network.

Investigators said Empress Information Technology Co. Ltd in Xiamen, China, paid Taiwanese operators to obtain phone numbers for LINE registration, then rented the accounts for about US$162 each. The accounts were used to contact targets by posing as journalists and persuading them to open encrypted files or download links. 

The two company executives admitted wrongdoing and returned illegal gains, prosecutors said. They were given deferred prosecution for violating the Personal Data Protection Act and were ordered to pay NT$120,000 (US$3,700) and NT$50,000 (US$1600) to the public treasury. Officials warned that foreign infiltration efforts are evolving and urged greater vigilance among Taiwan’s political and academic communities.