Taiwan's defense ministry says a hidden back door in a military research institute's procurement site let a foreign IP break in unnoticed — a bad look for defense cybersecurity as tensions with China stay high.

• The National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology's procurement site suddenly blasted out piles of expired tender notices to suppliers, tipping off the breach.
• The cause: the outside developer left a hidden scheduling panel in the system for convenience, and someone from a foreign IP address cracked it and triggered the mass send.
• Defense Minister Wellington Koo said the institute failed to spot the intrusion right away and that officials will be held responsible for the lapse.
• The institute has been ordered to run a full review and set up a proper response procedure for future attacks.
• Separately, the army has budgeted 1.44 billion Taiwan dollars next year for a new vehicle-mounted missile system, part of Taiwan's push into cheaper asymmetric weapons.

Outlook: Expect an accountability review at the institute and tighter rules on outside contractors touching military systems.