As tensions mount with China, Taiwan sees surge in cyberattacksAs tensions mount with China, Taiwan sees surge in cyberattacks

Using phishing emails and zero-day exploits, China's cyber-operations groups targeted Taiwanese organizations — including government agencies, telecommunications firms, and transportation — with significantly higher volumes of attacks in 2024.

On average, Taiwan saw more than 2.4 million attack attempts per day, double the 1.2 million average daily attacks in 2023, with the vast majority of activity targeting the Taiwanese government, according to an annual analysis published by Taiwan's National Security Bureau (NSB). Like many other countries, Taiwan has also detected a surge in attacks targeting its telecommunications sector, with the number of security events rising by more than sixfold, the analysis stated.

"China has continued to intensify its cyberattacks against Taiwan," the NSB stated in the report. "By applying diverse hacking techniques, China has conducted reconnaissance, set cyber ambushes, and stolen data through hacking operations targeting Taiwan’s government, CI [critical infrastructure] and key private enterprises."

China has become increasingly aggressive in its cyber operations. Government-backed groups in the country have compromised telecommunications networks in the US, stolen information from Southeast Asia and Africa, and targeted individuals in India with SMS phishing attacks. China-based groups, specifically, have branched out into a variety of different areas, going beyond cyber espionage.

To date, very few countermeasures have been effective at restraining China in cyberspace, says Jon Clay, vice president of threat intelligence at cybersecurity firm Trend Micro.

"Until nation-states take action against China's aggressiveness, I don't think you're going to see a diminishing of the pace in attacks," he says, adding the companies should expect to get targeted by nation-states in general and China specifically. "It's a wake-up call that they have to start thinking about 'how do I defend myself against these nation-states attacks better in 2025 than I've done in the past.'"

Successful Attacks Rise

Overall, Taiwanese government and private-sector organizations suffered at least 906 successful attacks in 2024, an increase of 20% compared with 2023, with government systems the target of more than 80% of attacks, followed by attacks against telecommunications firms, according to the NSB report.

The focus on the telecommunications industry is not surprising, says Michael Freeman, head of threat intelligence at Armis, a cyber-exposure management firm. A variety of countries' telecommunications providers — including at least nine firms in the US — have been targeted by Chinese groups.

To read the complete article, visit Dark Reading.