Cyber threats taking a toll of Taiwan’s democratic values amid China’s ‘grey zone’ tactics

Taiwan stands out as a beacon of democracy, innovation and resilience in an increasingly autocratic region. But this is now under a growing threat.

In recent years, China has used a variety of ‘grey zone’ tactics to put pressure on Taiwan to accept the Communist Party’s attempts at unification. This has included an onslaught of cyber-attacks, which not only pose a significant threat to Taiwan’s national security but also seek to undermine its democratic processes. These attacks range from phishing attempts to sophisticated malware intrusions.

Website defacement attacks and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are often seen during significant events, such as the August 2022 visit of Nancy Pelosi, then-speaker of the US House of Representatives.

Government agencies, educational institutions, convenience stores and train stations are among the targets.

So, how is Taiwan defending itself from these attacks? And can it continue to do so as China’s tactics become more sophisticated?

Millions of cyber-attacks a day: Despite its technological prowess and robust cybersecurity measures, it continues to be a major target for malicious actors seeking to sow chaos in the country. According to senior government officials, Taiwan receives some five million cyber-attacks a day.

Frontinet, a US-based cybersecurity firm, has found Taiwan experienced just over half of the billions of malware attacks detected in the Asia-Pacific region in the first half of 2023. The intensity of cyber-attacks reached new heights during the country’s elections in January – a critical juncture in its democratic journey. The Ministry of Digital Affairs reported on the widespread use of social engineering tactics to compel people to click on links or download files, which then allowed perpetrators to steal sensitive information.

One particularly alarming incident involved a “threat actor” named Earth Lusca, which targets organisations of interest to the Chinese government. From December to January, this actor emailed a malicious zip file entitled “China’s grey-zone warfare against Taiwan” to select targets, including government and educational institutions and news media in Taiwan….