Cybersecurity has emerged as a crucial geostrategic front in the contemporary world. In an era where technology dominates communication, critical infrastructure, and the global economy, international conflicts have transcended conventional wars to also encompass digital warfare and information warfare.
In this context, the case of Taiwan versus China in 2025 is a paradigmatic expression of how cyberattacks and disinformation are used as tools of political and military pressure to undermine the sovereignty of a state and alter social and political stability. This dynamic of cyberattacks presents new challenges and demands innovative responses in the realms of defense, diplomacy, and digital governance.
The Magnitude and Nature of the Offensive
According to recent data from Taiwan’s National Security Bureau (NSB), cyberattacks targeting government entities experienced a significant increase in 2025, growing by 17% compared to 2024. This translates to an average of 2.8 million cyberattacks per day, surpassing the 2.4 million recorded the previous year.
Beyond the quantitative growth, this figure reveals a qualitative evolution of cyberattacks, with greater sophistication and diversification in the tactics used. The main victims of this cyber offensive include the Executive Yuan’s Government Service Network, which acts as the administrative core connecting multiple state agencies, as well as sectors critical to the country’s stability: public health, national defense, telecommunications, energy, and essential infrastructure.
The cyberattacks range from unauthorized access attempts aiming to steal sensitive information, to massive saturation campaigns that seek to destabilize services and create chaos in the daily lives of citizens. What distinguishes this cyber offensive is its dual nature: on one hand, it aims to penetrate systems to obtain strategic intelligence and compromise vital infrastructure; on the other, a massive campaign of disinformation and media manipulation is deployed.
Taiwan has detected the operation of more than 10,000 anomalous social media accounts, responsible for spreading over 1.5 million messages designed to discredit the government, praise the Chinese regime, and sow doubts about the alliance with the United States, one of the main pillars of Taiwan’s defense.
This disinformation includes narratives favorable to Beijing, such as messages promoting the idea that reunification with China is inevitable and beneficial, while directly attacking public perception of Taiwan’s democratic institutions. The goal is to erode social trust and promote internal political polarization, thus weakening national cohesion at a critical moment.
Cognitive Warfare: Attacking Public Perception
A key element in this cyberattack campaign is so-called cognitive warfare, which aims to influence and control public opinion rather than merely compromise technical systems. Within this framework, advanced technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), are used to generate manipulative content in the form of memes, videos, personalized messages, and fake news, addressing controversial and sensitive topics for Taiwanese society.
These topics include presidential and local elections, delicate trade negotiations, issues of sovereignty, and international relations with the United States, Japan, and other countries. The strategy seeks to exploit existing social divisions and generate new internal tensions, a process that experts have dubbed “using Taiwan to attack Taiwan.”
The difficulty in identifying and countering this operation lies in the fact that the sources of false information appear to be local, which greatly complicates detection and reduces the effectiveness of official responses. These disinformation campaigns use advanced AI techniques to create highly credible fake profiles, capable of interacting with real users and spreading manipulative messages organically.
This approach falls within what are called “gray zone” tactics, which combine coercive actions without reaching open conflict. They include cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, controlled military provocations, and diplomatic maneuvers designed to weaken the adversary without triggering direct war. This strategy seeks to maintain constant pressure without provoking a response that could escalate into armed conflict, generating uncertainty and prolonged attrition.
Strategic Objectives and Targeted Sectors
The objectives of the Chinese cyber offensive are multiple and seek both material and symbolic impacts. In the material realm, critical infrastructure is prioritized: hospitals, energy systems, telecommunications networks, and military structures.
The disruption of any of these services by a cyberattack could trigger considerable social chaos and undermine the Taiwanese state’s ability to respond in crisis situations. For example, a successful cyberattack affecting the energy system could leave large areas without electricity, impacting hospitals, communications, and transportation systems.
As for information and public perception, the disinformation campaign aims to question the legitimacy of the government and foster distrust in the alliance with the United States, Taiwan’s main ally and arms supplier. This has direct consequences on internal political stability, as citizen trust is a fundamental pillar for governance and the ability to resist external pressure.
Furthermore, the NSB has reported the indictment of 24 individuals for espionage, including active and retired officers, showing that the campaign combines cyber operations with human agents working to steal strategic information and compromise internal networks. This reflects a hybrid cyberattack model, where digital operations are complemented by traditional espionage.
The Historical and Geopolitical Context
Taiwan has been self-governed since 1949 under the official name of the Republic of China, with its own political, economic, and social system, and is regarded as one of the most advanced democracies in Asia. Despite its distinct characteristics and independent functioning, Beijing considers Taiwan a “rebellious province” and an inalienable part of its territory, not recognizing its sovereignty or independence.
Since the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949, the relationship between the two has been marked by tensions, although with varying degrees of intensity and periods of relative calm. In recent decades, China’s economic and military growth has strengthened its capacity to pressure Taiwan through economic, diplomatic, military, and more recently, cyber means.
President Xi Jinping has placed “national reunification” as a key strategic objective, framed within his project of the “rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” This objective has led Beijing to intensify its campaign of political and military pressure, including military maneuvers near the Taiwan Strait, diplomatic sanctions against countries that recognize Taiwan, and a hybrid war that combines military coercion with information warfare and cyberattacks.
The geostrategic importance of Taiwan, located at the center of key maritime routes for global trade and power projection in the Pacific, makes the island a focal point for regional balance. The rivalry between the United States and China in this area multiplies the implications of any conflict or coercive action, increasing the complexity of the scenario.
The Rise of “Gray Zone” Tactics
The “gray zone” refers to coercive actions that do not reach the level of open armed conflict, but which aim to achieve political and strategic objectives. In the case of Taiwan, these tactics include conducting provocative military exercises near the island, incursions by surveillance balloons and drones beyond the median line of the Strait, massive cyberattacks, and campaigns of disinformation and manipulation of public opinion.
These military actions and cyberattacks offer Beijing the advantage of maintaining constant and growing pressure without provoking a direct military response that could escalate the conflict into open war. The difficulty in clearly identifying the boundaries between peace and war limits Taiwan and its allies’ ability to respond effectively, generating constant political and social strain.
Moreover, these tactics affect regional stability and complicate international diplomacy, as the actors involved must carefully manage their responses to avoid escalation. The “gray zone” in which cyberattacks also reside thus represents a sophisticated and sustained form of confrontation that challenges the traditional frameworks of war and peace.
Internal Challenges for Taiwan’s Defense
Taiwan has developed remarkable cyber defense capabilities, positioning itself as one of the most advanced countries in Asia in this field. However, it faces significant limitations that hinder a fully effective defense. The dependence on legacy systems in some government areas creates vulnerabilities exploitable by sophisticated attackers, requiring constant and costly modernization.
In addition, the gap in specialized cybersecurity talent is a critical problem. The rapid evolution of cyberattack threats outpaces the capacity to train and retain experts, making it difficult to detect and respond quickly to complex and coordinated incidents.
The human factor remains a fundamental weakness, given that cyberattacks involving social engineering, phishing, and other psychological manipulation methods can compromise even the best technical defenses. Continuous awareness and training of public officials and citizens is crucial to reduce this risk and strengthen collective resilience against cyber threats.
Defense Strategies and Digital Resilience
In the face of this multidimensional cyber threat, Taiwan has implemented a comprehensive approach that includes technological modernization, legal reforms, international cooperation, and civic education campaigns.
In terms of technology, the adoption of “zero trust” security models limits system access to authenticated users only and continuously verifies the legitimacy of connections, reducing the attack surface. Likewise, advanced artificial intelligence systems are used to detect anomalous patterns and automatically respond to emerging cyber threats, improving real-time defense capabilities.
On the legal front, sanctions against espionage and the spread of disinformation have been strengthened, along with mechanisms to identify and shut down fake social media accounts. These measures aim to mitigate the impact of information warfare on public perception and strengthen trust in democratic institutions.
International cooperation also plays a key role in Taiwan’s strategy. Maintaining strong alliances with the United States, Japan, and other democratic countries allows for intelligence sharing, technology exchange, and best practices in cybersecurity, creating a united front against the Chinese threat and raising the cost of Beijing’s aggressive actions.
Impact on Society and Democracy
Beyond technical and strategic aspects, China’s campaign has a profound and multifaceted impact on Taiwanese society. Disinformation and manipulation of public opinion generate polarization and distrust, making governance difficult and eroding the social cohesion needed to face crises.
To counter this, the government promotes media literacy, strengthening citizens’ ability to identify fake news, understand the context of information, and resist manipulation. Institutional transparency and clear, consistent communication are essential tools to maintain legitimacy and public support, as well as to build a solid narrative to counter external propaganda.
This comprehensive approach aims not only to protect digital infrastructure but also to safeguard social and political integrity—key elements for democratic resilience in an increasingly digital and complex environment.
Lessons for the World: The New Era of Hybrid Warfare
The case of Taiwan offers valuable lessons for other democracies facing external pressures in a digitized world. Cybersecurity must be understood as a fundamental element of national security, diplomacy, and political strategy.
Hybrid warfare, which combines military, technological, informational, and social aspects, requires integrated and multidimensional responses. Democratic resilience not only depends on having advanced technology but also on building an informed society, transparent institutions, and strong international cooperation networks.
Hybrid warfare, which combines military, technological, informational, and social aspects, requires integrated and multidimensional responses. Democratic resilience not only depends on having advanced technology but also on building an informed society, transparent institutions, and strong international cooperation networks.
Future Outlook and Recommendations
In light of this growing threat, it is essential for Taiwan to continue investing in cybersecurity technologies, including artificial intelligence, big data analysis, and early threat detection systems. At the same time, it must strengthen regional and global cooperation with allies who share democratic values and support an international rules-based order.
Education and public awareness are equally vital. Permanent media literacy programs will help mitigate the impact of disinformation and strengthen social resilience. Moreover, governmental transparency and a commitment to accountability will foster public trust and reduce the effectiveness of manipulation campaigns.
From an international perspective, it is necessary to promote agreements and legal frameworks that regulate behavior in cyberspace and sanction state actors that use these aggressive tactics. The international community must work to create a secure and trustworthy digital environment, where the sovereignty and rights of peoples are respected.
Finally, Taiwan’s experience reminds us that modern defense is multidimensional and requires an approach that encompasses technology, society, diplomacy, and governance. The consolidation of strong, transparent, and resilient democracies will be the best defense against hybrid warfare in this new era.
China’s Offensive Against Taiwan in 2025 exemplifies the transformation of national sovereignty into a concept that goes beyond territorial control, encompassing the protection of digital space and public information. China has developed a hybrid apparatus that combines massive cyberattacks, information warfare, and military pressure to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty without resorting to open conflict.
This model of diverse offensives like cyberattacks represents an unprecedented challenge for democracies, which must respond not only with technological capabilities but also with integrated political, social, and diplomatic strategies. Taiwan, for its part, has demonstrated a remarkable capacity for adaptation, strengthening its digital defenses and promoting social cohesion in the face of disinformation and cyberattacks.
However, the struggle for territorial integrity and the defense of its democratic system remains complex and demands constant innovation, investment, and international cooperation. The future of security in the region will largely depend on how these new forms of hybrid conflict are managed and on the international community’s willingness to support Taiwan’s right to determine its own destiny.
In an increasingly interconnected world, the defense of digital sovereignty and information integrity is just as important as the physical defense of territory, shaping a new paradigm for national and global security. If you want to learn more about the most innovative strategies against cyberattacks, write to us at [email protected]. We have a team of cybersecurity experts ready to assist you.
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