Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs reported detecting AI-assisted cyber-attacks targeting government agencies that commenced on 20 July, marking what has been characterized as a novel form of breach. The National Institute of Cyber Security issued warning alerts while investigating the incident.
According to Dream, an Israeli AI company that identified the intrusion, the attackers deployed open-source AI agents to construct an autonomous hacking tool functioning as a coordinated cyber unit. The tool compromised at least 85 government user accounts and extracted more than 2,500 personnel records before expanding operations to Taiwan’s nuclear safety agency and at least seven energy companies. The MDA described the attack as employing a hybrid approach combining manual operations with AI agent-assisted techniques.
While Taiwanese officials refrained from directly attributing responsibility, reporting indicated China-linked hackers were suspected. Dream noted that the use of Simplified Chinese in communications associated with the breach suggested a high probability of Chinese operator involvement, though the company did not attribute the attack to a specific group. Taiwan has previously reported significant cyber-attack activity against its infrastructure, with the National Security Bureau citing a 6% increase in Chinese cyber-attacks during 2025, averaging 2.63 million attacks daily.
Taiwan has characterized such attacks as part of broader “hybrid warfare” tactics, which include military drills near the island, disinformation campaigns, and coordinated cyber operations. Security researchers noted that AI-assisted hacking campaigns have escalated following recent releases of advanced AI models capable of conducting reconnaissance and identifying vulnerabilities. The government indicated that affected units had completed their response efforts and implemented protective guidelines to strengthen system monitoring and block attacks at earlier stages.
Neither Taiwan’s government nor Chinese authorities issued statements directly addressing the allegations or the broader security implications of the incident.
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