A recent report by the National Security Bureau found that the scale of China’s cyberattacks against Taiwan reached an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day in 2025.
Among the most targeted entities lie Critical Infrastructures –– assets, systems, and networks whose disruption could harm government and society, cause casualties, and undermine economic, environmental, or national security interests.
This cyber environment poses a great burden on the shoulders of the Ministry of Digital Affairs, whose readiness is constantly tested. Yet, amid rising concerns regarding Chinese and Russian disinformation against democracies around the world, Taiwan's experience could become a strength through knowledge sharing with other democracies.
To increase global democratic resilience, no democracy should be left alone — this includes Taiwan.
In the conduct of hybrid warfare, China has counted on its cyber capabilities to increase pressure against democracies.
Taiwan's cyber reality
For the CCP, cyberspace serves as a domain of asymmetric conflict, deterrence, and information control. In 2024, cyber warfare’s role within the PLA has been elevated through centralization and the establishment of two new forces.
In regard to Taiwan, Chinese cyberattacks have taken different forms: attacks on hardware and software vulnerabilities, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, social engineering attacks, and supply chain attacks.
Increasingly sophisticated and diverse means have grown in parallel with a rising number of attacks. Since 2023, cyberattacks against Taiwan have more than doubled.
In its strategy for achieving unification, cyberattacks can serve three main goals for Beijing:
- Capturing sensitive information: Reaching Taiwan's leading companies' data can profoundly disrupt the island's economy and technological leverage. According to the NSB, these attacks represent "an attempt to support China's self-reliance in technology and economic development and prevent China from being put in a disadvantaged position in the U.S.-China technology competition."
- Spreading disinformation to weaken national resilience and trust in the government: cyber offensives against the Democratic Progressive Party, coercion against so-called “separatist forces,” and political interference are tools employed by the PRC to control the narrative and the information.
- Preparing for conventional military operations: NSB’s 2025 report highlights how emergency rescue and hospitals were among the most targeted by China’s cyberattacks in 2025. Equally important, cyber operations were synchronized with military drills on 23 of China's 40 joint combat readiness patrols in 2025.
Facing this relentless pressure, Taiwan has not remained passive. It has invested heavily, both economically and institutionally, to build a cyber-resilient society capable of enduring sustained digital assault.
Taiwan's defensive evolution
Since 2001, the National Information and Communication Security Taskforce has released seven key cybersecurity plans. The most recent phase of the National Cybersecurity Development Program, worth NT$8.8 billion (US$301 million), was announced in 2025 and will extend to 2028.
Across the years, Taiwan has gradually expanded its cyber resilience from basic defense infrastructure to legal frameworks, talent development, and public-private coordination. Over time, these policies strengthened critical infrastructure protection, incident response, and whole-of-society preparedness against evolving cyber threats.
The Whole-of-Society Resilience initiative, launched by President Lai Chinge-te (賴清德) in early 2024, reveals how Taiwan has adapted to its cyber environment — through transparency and shared efforts across Taiwanese society.
A fragmented response cannot effectively face the scale of attacks against Taiwan, and a cohesive answer is therefore necessary. Digital literacy campaigns, fact checkers, and cyber-resilience drills highlight a national effort to resist cyber pressures.
Beyond openness and shared efforts, adaptation to evolving threats is also key for Taiwan. Notably, the seventh phase of the National Cybersecurity Development Program represents a structural realignment of Taiwan's national defense priorities, placing unprecedented focus on AI-enabled cyber defense.
This approach has allowed Taiwan to become a democratic model of resilience against autocratic pressures. Yet, Taiwan's investments and innovations risk remaining confined to Taiwan itself.
The lessons learned from defending against 2.63 million daily attacks should inform democratic cyber strategies globally. This requires moving beyond Taiwan's isolation toward meaningful international collaboration.
United democratic front necessary
Mechanisms for expanding such collaboration already exist, though they remain underutilized and politically constrained. Two areas could offer immediate opportunities for deepening cooperation.
First, track 1.5 and track 2 diplomacy through Computer Emergency Response Teams provides practical channels that circumvent political obstacles. Since 2017, TWCERT/CC has participated in the United States “Stop.Think.Connect” program and engages in automatic indicator sharing with US-CERT.
Taiwan also participates in the Asia Pacific Computer Emergency Response Team, offering low-profile avenues for technical exchanges with regional partners. These operational relationships enable real-time threat intelligence sharingwithout requiring formal diplomatic recognition.
Second, securing the global supply chains should be a major incentive for allies to seek increased cyber cooperation with Taiwan. Damage to key semiconductor infrastructures would spread through global supply chains and threaten economic security far beyond Taiwan. As the digital environment grows more hostile, this risk calls for a coordinated response.
Therefore, democratic unity is critical to strengthen resilience: a recent report issued by NATO’s Committee on Democracy and Security highlights how cooperation with like-minded countries facing cyber disinformation operations by China is critical to strengthen resilience.
In this regard, Taiwan is probably the most relevant actor from which to learn. However, when the nation experiencing the world's most intense cyber assault cannot fully share its defensive innovations and threat intelligence, all democracies are weakened.
