Audio wiring was found attached to phone terminal block that serviced the Taipei mayoral candidate’s office.
Some interesting security points are mentioned in the following article:
- A routine privacy inspection uncovered the extra cable- regular sweeps are important!
- Telecom technicians verified that conversations from Ko’s ninth-floor phone were audible through the third-floor line.
- No CCTV: No staff members work on the third floor and therefore no security cameras were set up to monitor the area
- No access control: No electronic security card is needed to access the third-floor elevators.
- In the blame-game, information leaks were blamed on the director being a “blabbermouth” rather than eavesdropping
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien (連勝文) said yesterday that his opponent Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) should drop out of the election if police are not able to confirm the existence of the alleged eavesdropping devices that Ko’s election team claimed they discovered connected to their office phone; Lien added that Ko is only trying to divert attention away from his recent human organ transaction scandal.
Ko’s campaign team told the media last night that they found two eavesdropping devices attached to Ko’s office phone line before calling the police to investigate. The police did not find any eavesdropping gadgets and Ko’s team retracted their statement, saying that they only discovered an extra audio cable.
The police have taken in all related evidence for inspection and fingerprinting.
An telecom wiring box in Taipei mayoral candidate Ko Wen-je’s third-floor office. Technicians found two suspicious and unauthorized lines.(CNA)
Ko’s staff became suspicious on Oct. 1 after Ko’s campaign schedule was posted onto Facebook by Lien’s campaign director, Tsai Cheng-yuan (蔡正元). Ko initially faulted his election team for leaking information, but later ruled out any internal betrayal. Ko’s team began internal investigations that focused on phone lines, abnormal electric waves from possible hidden devices and the prospect of Internet hacking. A routine privacy inspection uncovered the extra cable.
Kuomintang Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien responds to media questions yesterday over allegations of eavesdropping raised by the team of his opponent, Ko Wen-je, in Taipei. (CNA)
‘Blabbermouth’ Chang
Tsai retaliated against the phone hacking allegations, saying that if he is proven to be involved with the alleged eavesdropping, he will immediately resign and quit politics. Tsai said he was able to receive Ko’s schedule because Ko’s policy director Chang Ching-sen is a “blabbermouth” who voluntarily circulates information. Tsai said that the prosecutors’ office should arrest any phone-hacking perpetrators, but if they don’t exist and the story was a ploy, then Ko’s election team needs to be ridiculed and shamed.
Lien’s spokesman, Chien Chen-yu (錢震宇), said Ko’s team should show the so-called eavesdropping devices at once to prove that they did not fake the news. Chien also said it is despicable and disrespectful to democracy if Ko’s team fabricated the story. He added that this type of corrupt campaign manipulation will backfire. Ko should not be using the media as an election campaign tool, Chien added.
Ko campaign official Li Ying-yuan (李應元) said that Chunghwa Telecom technicians verified that conversations from Ko’s ninth-floor phone were audible through the third-floor line. Li said that the cable is not a standard cable provided by the phone company.
Ko spokeswoman Jian Yu-yan (簡余晏) said she hopes that the extra cable is not the work of Lien’s office, but the situation is very suspicious.
Li also said that Ko refused to make any allegations, but asked the public to be the judge as to why his privacy is being violated during a fair election. No staff members work on the third floor and therefore no security cameras were set up to monitor the area, said Li. Jian said that no electronic security card is needed to access the third-floor elevators.
Ko said he no longer has phone meetings and only has face-to-face conversations concerning sensitive topics.