- Taiwan detected AI-assisted cyberattacks on government agencies last month from overseas, but the affected bodies successfully "handled" the incident, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said.
- The Ministry of Digital Affairs stated that its cybersecurity monitoring units detected the 'abnormal attack' targeting government agencies in July, and from July 20, the National Institute of Cyber Security issued a series of warning alerts.
- The investigation revealed that the attacks displayed clear characteristics of an 'overseas source', with hackers employing a hybrid approach that combined manual operations with AI agent-assisted attacks, such as Open Claw.
- The ministry confirmed that the attack sources, methods, and impact were fully investigated, and the affected units completed handling the incident.
- In response to this new type of threat, the government has established protective guidelines and strengthened system monitoring across agencies to block attacks early.
- The threat of AI-assisted hacking campaigns has been growing for years but has ramped up dramatically over the past few months after top AI labs released models capable of conducting reconnaissance and exploiting vulnerabilities.
- An Israeli cybersecurity company, Dream, reported that it uncovered an AI-driven hacking campaign that stole credentials and other data from an unnamed government in Asia, which was later identified as Taiwanese.
- Dream's findings indicated that a team of AI agents worked together to extract passwords and personnel records from Taiwan's justice ministry and scan its nuclear safety agency for vulnerabilities.
Taiwan's Ministry of Digital Affairs reported that government agencies were targeted by an 'abnormal' AI-assisted cyber-attack last month, which was successfully managed. The attack, detected on July 20, involved a hybrid approach combining manual operations and AI, with indications of an overseas source.12
The Ministry stated that its cybersecurity monitoring units issued a series of warning alerts during the investigation. The National Institute of Cyber Security confirmed that the attack displayed clear characteristics of an 'overseas source', employing a hybrid approach that combined manual operations with AI agent-assisted attacks, such as Open Claw.3
In a related report, Israeli cybersecurity firm Dream revealed that the AI-driven hacking campaign compromised at least 85 government user accounts and extracted over 2,500 personnel records. The attack also targeted Taiwan's nuclear safety agency and several energy companies over four days.7
While Taiwanese officials did not directly accuse any specific group, the Financial Times noted that the use of Simplified Chinese in internal communications linked to the hack suggested a high probability of connection to China. The National Security Bureau of Taiwan reported a 6% increase in cyber-attacks from China on key infrastructure in 2025, highlighting the ongoing threat of hybrid warfare against the island.
In response to this new type of AI-derived cybersecurity threat, the government has established protective guidelines and strengthened system monitoring across agencies to block attacks early.5
“The attack, which began July 20, used a hybrid of manual and AI agent-assisted methods like Open Claw, and the National Institute of Cyber Security issued warning alerts during the investigation. Taiwan's government has since established protective guidelines and strengthened system monitoring to block similar threats early.”
The Guardian
