Taiwan’s National Security Bureau says that in 2025 Beijing-linked cyber forces launched an unprecedented average of about 2.63 million attacks per day against critical Taiwanese infrastructure — including hospitals, energy grids, banks and tech sectors — representing a roughly 6% increase over 2024 and more than double the rate first recorded in 2023, with many incidents timed to coincide with military drills or political milestones as part of wider “hybrid warfare” pressures from China. The bureau’s annual analysis highlights a complex campaign of distributed denial-of-service, intrusion exploits, social engineering and malware attempts focused on undermining Taiwan’s operational resilience amid rising cross-strait tensions, and underscores Taipei’s efforts to coordinate international cybersecurity cooperation in response. Beijing officially denies involvement.
Sources:
https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/taiwanese-infrastructure-suffered-over-2-5-million-chinese-cyberattacks-per-day-in-2025-report-reveals
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinese-cyberattacks-taiwan-infrastructure-averaged-26-million-day-2025-report-2026-01-05/
https://focustaiwan.tw/cross-strait/202601040009
Key Takeaways
- Taiwanese critical infrastructure — from healthcare and energy to financial systems — faced an average of 2.63 million attempted cyberattacks daily in 2025, as documented by Taiwan’s National Security Bureau.
- This represents a year-over-year escalation in hostile cyber activity attributed to China, with attacks often synchronized with military operations or key political events.
- Taiwanese authorities are engaging more closely with global partners to assess, respond to, and fortify defenses against escalating cross-strait cyber threats.
In-Depth
In 2025, Taiwan’s critical infrastructure saw a dramatic uptick in cyber intrusions and malicious network traffic traced back to mainland China, signaling a persistent and evolving digital pressure campaign that dovetails with broader geopolitical tensions in the Taiwan Strait. According to Taiwan’s National Security Bureau, roughly 2.63 million targeted attacks occurred each day, a figure that outstrips 2024’s average and more than doubles the early years of data collection. These attacks were not random nuisances; they coincided with Chinese military patrols and politically sensitive moments, illustrating a coordinated approach that blends conventional power displays with asymmetric cyber tactics.
The reported offensive encompasses a broad range of techniques — from classic denial-of-service barrages that can overwhelm networks to sophisticated intrusions leveraging social engineering, exploitable vulnerabilities and supply-chain footholds. Critical sectors such as energy distribution, healthcare networks, communications systems and financial institutions were repeatedly targeted, underscoring not just opportunistic probing but an apparent intent to disrupt or undermine essential public services and civic stability.
Taipei has framed the surge as part of a broader “hybrid warfare” strategy by Beijing, where digital incursions augment physical pressure to destabilize Taiwan’s democratic governance and infrastructure. In response, Taiwan is bolstering international cooperation, sharing threat intelligence with Indo-Pacific partners and NATO allies to improve collective resilience and defend the island’s digital frontlines. Meanwhile, Beijing has consistently denied direct involvement, dismissing such claims even as global cybersecurity analysts document similar patterns of state-linked activity.
The escalating cyber threat highlights how modern conflicts blend the physical and digital, requiring robust defense postures, cross-border collaboration, and constant vigilance in the face of an adversary willing to leverage every tool short of open war to gain strategic advantage. Given the scale and sophistication observed, cybersecurity has become a frontline issue for Taiwan’s national security strategy heading into 2026 and beyond.