Taiwan Battles Espionage and Cyber Threats Amid Growing Chinese Influence

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence reports China's use of criminal organizations and online tactics to infiltrate the military. Counterintelligence efforts have been effective, with 87.5% of Chinese spies reported by approached personnel. Simultaneously, Taiwan experienced 82 cyberattacks in March, affecting various government sectors.

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence has highlighted China's strategic use of local criminal organizations and various civil groups to infiltrate and gather intelligence from the Taiwanese military, as reported by Taipei Times. This revelation forms part of a broader report prepared for lawmakers, ahead of a scheduled hearing focused on Chinese espionage.

The Ministry states that China's intelligence operations leverage tactics such as blackmail, online communication, and bribery to compromise Taiwanese military personnel. The ultimate aim, according to the report, is to gather intelligence and weaken Taiwan's defence capabilities by creating an operational network among its armed forces.

Notably, counterintelligence activities have been notably successful; 87.5% of intercepted Chinese espionage attempts were reported by military members who had been approached. The Ministry is actively collaborating with the National Security Bureau and the Ministry of Justice to develop rigorous investigation procedures. At the same time, efforts to bolster defenses against espionage have led to the implementation of standardized processes for monitoring information security violations.

In the digital realm, a report by the Ministry of Digital Affairs revealed that Taiwan experienced 82 cyberattacks in March, marking a slight decline from the previous year. According to the Administration for Cyber Security, over 20 government institutions were targeted by distributed denial-of-service attacks, impacting numerous public sectors.

The cyber attacks particularly disrupted local governments, tax agencies, judicial systems, and healthcare providers, with these sectors comprising nearly 30% of the incidents. Despite these challenges, officials have confirmed that none of the attacks led to permanent damage, thanks to rapid response efforts which restored most systems to operation.

(With inputs from agencies.)