Taiwan targeted in AI-driven hacking campaign

Taiwan's Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) confirmed that overseas hackers used AI agents to target government agencies in a cyberattack last month, compromising at least 85 government user accounts and extracting more than 2,500 personnel records before expanding to Taiwan's nuclear safety agency and at least seven energy companies, according to a Financial Times report. The attack, first detected by Israeli AI startup Dream, used open-source AI agents to build an autonomous hacking tool, and internal communications in simplified Chinese suggested a likely connection to China. MODA said it has established guidelines to address AI-related cybersecurity threats and will bolster defenses.

Overseas hackers used artificial intelligence AI agents to target government agencies in a cyberattack last month, the Ministry of Digital Affairs MODA said yesterday, following a Financial Times report on the incident. The Administration for Cyber Security said in a statement that its cybersecurity monitoring unit detected the attacks last month and that the National Institute for Cyber Security began issuing alerts on July 20. An investigation was launched immediately, and the source, methods and scope of the attacks have been determined, while affected agencies have completed their responses, it said. Photo: AP The ministry did not disclose where the attacks originated. According to the Financial Times report, published on Wednesday, researchers at Israeli AI start-up Dream were the first to detect the intrusion, which allegedly used open-source AI agents to build an autonomous hacking tool. It also cited a source familiar with the matter as saying that Taiwan was the target. The tool compromised at least 85 government user accounts and extracted more than 2,500 personnel records before the attackers expanded their operations to Taiwan’s nuclear safety agency and at least seven energy companies, the UK-based news outlet reported. Dream did not attribute the attack to a specific group, but researchers said that internal communications linked to the operation were in simplified Chinese, suggesting the operators were likely connected to China. Meanwhile, the agency said the attacks showed clear signs of originating overseas and involved a hybrid approach combining conventional hacking with AI agents such as OpenClaw. AI agents can rapidly combine multiple attack techniques and use secondary systems, such as backup and testing systems, as stepping stones, making attacks faster, cheaper and more scalable, it said. MODA said the government has established guidelines to address emerging AI-related cybersecurity threats and would continue to bolster its overall defenses and monitoring for potential attack paths. Chinese cyberattacks on Taiwan’s key infrastructure from hospitals to banks rose 6 percent last year from the previous year to an average of 2.63 million attacks a day, the National Security Bureau said in January, adding that some of the hacks were synchronized with military drills in “hybrid threats.” The threat of AI-assisted hacking campaigns has been growing for years, but ramped up dramatically over the past few months after top AI labs released models, such as Anthropic’s Mythos, which can rapidly conduct reconnaissance, identify vulnerabilities and take advantage of them. Cris Thomas, a researcher and security advocate at the cybersecurity company Semgrep, said the hacking campaign was an illustration of just how quickly AI-assisted hackers could hit their mark. However, Thomas cautioned against exaggerating the power of AI agents. “There’s still a human in there somewhere. Somebody had to choose who to attack, had to establish an objective and give it a directive. It’s not totally 100 percent autonomous. There was a capable operator in charge that did that,” he added. Typhoon Dolphin was expected to make its closest approach to Taiwan yesterday afternoon through today before continuing west toward China, the Central Weather Administration CWA said yesterday, forecasting that mountainous areas of Hsinchu and Miaoli could receive the heaviest rainfall, with precipitation expected to reach 350mm to 500mm. The rain could fall within a single day, raising the risk of torrential downpours, the agency warned. The likelihood of a land warning for Taiwan proper has been ruled out, while the chance of a land warning for outlying Lienchiang County has fallen from the previous day’s estimate, it added. If Dolphin’s track and The Central Weather Administration CWA issued a sea warning for Typhoon Dolphin at 2:30pm yesterday, as the storm steadily moved toward the waters north of Taiwan, with heavy or extremely heavy rain expected over the weekend in the central mountains and the north. As of 5pm yesterday, Dolphin was about 680km east-northeast of Taipei and moving west at 10kph, with maximum sustained winds of 144kph and a storm radius of 280km, CWA data showed. While the typhoon has slowed slightly, it remains within forecast expectations and would not be longer than previously predicted, CWA forecaster Chu Mei-lin 朱美霖 told a news conference. The CHINESE THREAT: The military also simulated repelling an attack on Penghu and transporting military vehicles from Hualien to Yilan to reinforce defenses in the north The government yesterday slowed mobile Internet coverage for a large swathe of the central part of Taiwan proper for the first time during annual war games, simulating communication disruption in the event of a Chinese attack or natural disaster. Taiwan, which has long lived with the threat of a Chinese invasion, holds air raid drills along with its war games every year, clearing people from the streets for 30 minutes. During the Internet “throttling” drill, centered on Taichung, only basic mobile phone services worked, although other functions, including ATMs, traffic signals, landlines and fixed-line Internet services, were not affected. Air raid sirens rang ‘IRONIC’: The Nagasaki memorial calls for the abolition of nuclear weapons and peace, but it sided with China, which has been threatening peace in the Strait, an official said Taipei yesterday protested the seating arrangement at the Nagasaki atomic bombing memorial ceremony, saying that the Nagasaki City Government’s decision to place its representative outside the diplomatic delegation area slighted Taiwan’s national status and played into Beijing’s efforts to suppress the nation. Representative to Japan Lee Yi-yang 李逸洋 said he declined to attend the event, because the seat placement deliberately diminished Taiwan’s status and dignity, with Chen Ming-chun 陳銘俊 , head of the Fukuoka Branch of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Osaka, attending in his place. Taiwan is known worldwide for its commitment to peace and democracy, Lee said, adding that