Insider Theft! Senior Engineer Alters Cloud Billing, Costing Chunghwa Telecom $11 Million

A former senior engineer at Chunghwa Telecom faces indictment for allegedly exploiting his position to defraud the company of millions. Prosecutors accuse the engineer, identified by the surname Li, of manipulating cloud service billing for his own company, LAB Space, from 2017 onwards. By setting the services to "do not bill," Li allegedly enabled his company to use Chunghwa Telecom's cloud resources without charge.

LAB Space then reportedly used these free resources to build websites for clients, including institutions like the Taipei Cultural Foundation and other businesses, generating profits. This practice is estimated to have cost Chunghwa Telecom at least NT$33 million (approximately $1 million USD) in unpaid service fees. Chunghwa Telecom initiated an investigation in February 2023 after noticing accounting anomalies, which led to the discovery of Li's alleged scheme.

Further complicating the case, Li is accused of forging official Chunghwa Telecom notices. When the company began its investigation, Li allegedly sent fake notices to LAB Space clients, claiming the company was undergoing server relocation. This was reportedly an attempt to explain potential website disruptions caused by the suspension of unpaid cloud services, thereby concealing the true reason for any outages.

Prosecutors have indicted Li on multiple charges, including breach of trust, computer crime, and document forgery. The investigation concluded that Li abused his system privileges to benefit his private company and subsequently falsified documents to cover his tracks. The case highlights significant internal security vulnerabilities within a major telecommunications provider.