Government network hit by over 2.8 million cyberattacks a day: NSB

Taipei, Oct. 13 (CNA) The Government Service Network of the Executive Yuan has reported more than 2.8 million cyberattacks a day on overage so far this year, a document submitted by the National Security Bureau (NSB) to the Legislative Yuan showed Monday.

In the document, sent to lawmakers ahead of a legislative committee hearing scheduled for Wednesday, the NSB said hackers attacking the Government Service Network seemed focused on several areas, such as critical infrastructure projects and sensitive information about the government's overseas cooperation.

Their motivation in going after systems related to national defense, foreign affairs, and communications was to collect sensitive information and manipulate key infrastructure progress, the NSB said.

In addition to the cyberattacks, the NSB report also said Taiwan's intelligence agencies had detected more than 1.5 million pieces of controversial information posted through more than 10,800 abnormal online accounts so far this year.

The NSB accused China of being behind the campaign, saying that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) largely applied the controversial information to "use Taiwan to attack Taiwan" and to "reproduce content to amplify their attacks," the NSB said in the report.

Most of the accounts, disguised as forums and Facebook accounts, disseminated false data to influence public opinion, intensify internal confrontation in Taiwan, applaud China, and raise distrust of the United States.

In terms of China's espionage tactics, the NSB said 24 individuals were indicted for their involvement in espionage in the first nine months of 2025, including 13 retired and incumbent military officers.

Most of the cases involved former officers who attempted to persuade active officers to join them to collect confidential information from the government, the NSB said.

In evaluating China's cyber tactics, the NSB said China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) and national security and police agencies have organized a coordinated network and set up a cyber army together with the Chinese public to launch cyberattacks on Taiwan and secure sensitive information.

These Chinese cyberattack operators have adopted a dual strategy, combining covert infiltration with political manipulation to conduct psychological operations aimed at undermining the Taiwanese public's faith in the government, the NSB said.

With nationwide local government elections coming in 2026, the NSB said, the CCP is likely to intensify its efforts to intervene in Taiwan's affairs, and it pledged to investigate abnormalities during election season to ensure that the process remained smooth.