Taiwan's National Security Agency pointed out in its latest report that the average daily number of cyber attacks against Taiwan's critical infrastructure in 2025 was about 2.63 million, an increase of 6% from 2024, and some attacks were synchronized with mainland China's military exercises and major political nodes, and were described as "hybrid threats" trying to paralyze Taiwan's social operations. The report stated that since relevant data began to be released in 2023, the average number of daily attacks in 2025 increased by 113% compared with 2023. Among them, attacks in key areas such as energy, emergency rescue systems, and hospitals had the most obvious year-on-year increases, indicating that the attackers intended to "systematically destroy Taiwan's important infrastructure and interfere with or paralyze government and social functions."
In recent years, the Taiwan authorities have repeatedly accused Beijing of waging so-called "hybrid warfare" against Taiwan. In addition to almost daily military aircraft and warship drills around the Taiwan Strait, it also includes disinformation operations and large-scale cyber attacks. They believe that the mainland is using military and non-traditional means to increase pressure on Taiwan at the political and security levels. The report pointed out that China's "cyber forces" will respond to the rhythm of military and political pressure. For example, among the 40 "joint combat readiness police patrol" operations of the People's Liberation Army, 23 were accompanied by an escalation of cyber attacks. The targets of the attacks included financial institutions, public service units and key information and communication systems.
The report also mentioned that Beijing significantly amplified the scale of cyber operations at politically sensitive moments in Taiwan. For example, during President Lai Ching-te's speech on the first anniversary of his inauguration in May 2025, related attack activities significantly intensified; in November of the same year, when Vice President Hsiao Meiqin went to the European Parliament to meet with members and deliver a speech, hacker attacks against Taiwan also increased simultaneously. The National Security Bureau believes that these actions reflect Beijing's intention to use "hybrid threats" both in wartime and peacetime, integrating military coercion with cyber and information warfare methods to exert more comprehensive pressure on Taiwan.
The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council of China did not comment on the relevant claims. Beijing has always denied involvement in hacking attacks and insisted it opposes and cracks down on all forms of cyberattacks. The Chinese government has long claimed that Taiwan is part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to "unify" it, while Taipei strongly opposes Beijing's sovereignty claims and says only the Taiwanese people have the right to decide Taiwan's future.
The report pointed out that this round of cyber attacks against Taiwan is of various types, including disrupting the daily life and public services of Taiwanese people through distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, as well as implementing "man-in-the-middle attacks" to steal sensitive information and penetrate Taiwan's telecommunications networks. Taiwan's many science parks that support the semiconductor industry - including those where companies such as chip giant TSMC are located - have also become major targets of attacks, with attackers trying to use a variety of techniques to steal advanced manufacturing processes and key technology secrets. Taiwan's National Security Bureau pointed out in the report that these actions are aimed at helping China "achieve self-reliance and self-reliance" in the fields of science and technology and economy, and avoid being at a disadvantage in the technological competition between China and the United States.