In Taiwan, hackers attacked government agencies using AI
In July, Taiwan detected cyberattacks on government agencies in which hackers used artificial intelligence. According to Taiwanese authorities, the attacks appeared to have originated overseas, but the affected agencies were able to contain the incidents.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs reported that its cybersecurity monitoring unit detected an “abnormal attack” targeting government agencies in July.
Starting on July 20, the National Cybersecurity Institute issued a series of alerts and launched an investigation.
The investigation found that the attacks showed “clear signs of a foreign source.” The attackers used a hybrid approach that combined manual operations with attacks using artificial intelligence agents, specifically Open Claw.
“All sources, methods, and the scope of impact of these attacks were thoroughly investigated, and the affected departments successfully completed their response measures,” the ministry stated.
In response to this new type of cyberthreat, the Taiwanese government has developed additional security measures and stepped up monitoring of government agencies’ information systems.
Taiwan’s statement came a day after a report from the Israeli cybersecurity firm Dream.
The company stated that it had detected a cyberattack using artificial intelligence, during which login credentials and other information were stolen from an unnamed government in Asia.
According to Dream, a group of AI agents worked together over a four-day period to obtain numerous passwords belonging to government officials, steal personal data from employees of Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice, and test the nuclear safety agency for vulnerabilities.
Reuters notes that in recent years, Taiwan has regularly reported a “hybrid war” waged by China. This includes military exercises near the island, disinformation campaigns, and cyberattacks.
Beijing is intensifying military and political pressure on democratically governed Taiwan, demanding recognition of China’s claims to sovereignty over the island.
According to data from Taiwan’s National Security Bureau released in January 2026, the number of cyberattacks by China on the island’s critical infrastructure rose by 6% last year compared to 2024. On average, 2.64 million attacks were recorded per day—specifically targeting hospitals, banks, and other critical facilities.
Taiwanese officials also stated that some of the cyberattacks were synchronized with China’s military exercises and may have been part of broader hybrid threats.
At the same time, in a statement regarding the July incident, Taiwanese authorities did not explicitly accuse China of involvement in this specific cyberattack.
This was reported by Reuters.
Previously, authorities in the United Arab Emirates announced that they had successfully repelled a series of sophisticated and coordinated cyberattacks targeting the country’s aviation, energy, and education sectors.
As a reminder, the U.S. Senate supported a bill providing temporary funding for the federal government but did not agree to the Trump administration’s demand to allocate approximately $70 billion for military spending related to Iran.
Despite large-scale U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, its nuclear program has likely not been completely destroyed. According to The New York Times, Tehran may have retained stockpiles of highly enriched uranium that would potentially be sufficient to quickly produce up to ten nuclear warheads.
