Taiwan Looks to Blockchain to Evade Chinese Hackers

Taiwan is planning on leveraging blockchain’s security capabilities to bolster its cyber security and make it more resistant to Chinese cyberattacks. The east Asian country’s government launched the blockchain-based project soon after U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi visited the island, the first such visit by a senior-level official in more than two decades.

Designed in 2014 by Juan Benet, the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) will allow Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs to protect its infrastructure from online attacks. Built using blockchain technology, IPFS is a decentralized peer-to-peer network that allows users to circumvent centralized points of failure by storing and backing up websites and files across a wide network of different nodes. This technology also makes it possible for users to get around online censorship efforts, an issue that is prevalent in neighboring China.

The Taiwanese Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) will integrate IPFS technology into its web portal to protect it from attacks. In the wake of Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, the country’s government websites have experienced several attacks including a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack that made the sites inaccessible. Officials from Taipei also say that the country saw almost 5 million scans for system vulnerabilities and attacks in 2021.

According to Taiwan Digital Minister Audrey Tang, the new MODA site had not been subject to any attacks since it was first launched when China began practicing military drills around the time Pelosi visited Taiwan. Tang says that the site currently uses both Web2 and Web3 tools, leveraging a Web3 structure that is built and relies on the global Web2 backbone network. Although the new site currently shows “Coming Soon August 2022,” the public can still access multiple files through IPFS.

Speaking to local media outlet Liberty Times, Tang said that the country launched the new MODA site on the day the Chinese military began army drills. Soon after China’s People’s Liberation Army started its military drills, Taiwan saw an uptick in cyberattacks, with the attacks reaching some 15,000 gigabits on Aug. 2, 2022. There were also reported cases of hackers breaking into public signage and displaying messages branding Pelosi as a witch looking to challenge China’s sovereignty and divide the Chinese people.

The east Asian country has traditionally been the target of Chinese cyberattacks, reporting a whopping 20.4 million cyberattacks every month in 2018. The cyberattacks increased after Taiwan elected Tsai Ing Wen as president in 2016, with Taipei stating that the country saw approximately 5 million scans for vulnerabilities or attacks per day last year.

The move made by Taiwan to resort to using blockchain technology to avert potential cyber attacks is just what could end up popularizing the industry and give companies such as HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: HIVE) (TSX.V: HIVE) the vote of confidence they need in the eyes of the general public.

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