Taiwan prepares for cyber 'World War III'; alleges 'most attacks from China'

Amid rising military pressure from China, Taiwan is preparing itself for cyber “World War III,” the self-governing island’s head of cybersecurity told CNN. While speaking to the media outlet, Chien Hung-wei said that Taiwan is using dramatic measures to guard against technological vulnerabilities. The island is employing roughly two dozen computer experts to deliberately attack the government’s systems and help it defend against what Taiwanese officials estimate are some 20 million to 40 million cyberattacks every month. 

Taiwan has said that it has been able to defend against the overwhelming majority of attacks, which the island believes are coming from neighbouring China. Chien informed that successful breaches number is in the hundreds, while only a handful are what the government classifies as “serious”. He added that based on the attackers’ actions and methodology, the Taiwanese officials have a “high degree of confidence that many attacks originated from our neighbour,” referring to mainland China. 

China calls Taipei's accusations 'groundless' 

Further, Chien said that the operation of the Taiwanese government highly relies on the internet. He said that the island’s critical infrastructure, such as gas, water and electricity are highly digitized, making it easy for the island to fall victim if the network security is not robust enough. Chien even went on to reveal that Taiwan suspects that Chinese state-backed hackers were behind at least one major malware attack on the island last year. 

Chien, the Taiwanese cybersecurity department leader, reportedly said that the self-governing island has been subject to tens of millions of attacks monthly, a trend the government has recorded for at least the last few years. But he also said Taiwan has been able to defend against most attempts and serious breaches resulting in stolen data or paralyzed services numbered about 10 over the last year.

Beijing, on the other hand, has repeatedly denied launching cyberattacks against Taiwan and others. According to CNN, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the Island’s accusations “groundless and purely malicious”. China's Taiwan Affairs Office also criticized Taiwanese authorities for using cyberattacks to smear the mainland as a "habitual trick," and to shift the public's focus away from the island's recent COVID-19 outbreak.

Tensions between China-Taiwan 

Meanwhile, it is worth noting that Taiwan and China have been governed separately since the end of the Chinese Civil War more than 70 years ago. While the Chinese Communist Party has never ruled Taiwan, Beijing considers the island to be an "inseparable part" of its territory and has repeatedly even threatened to use force if necessary to prevent the island from formally declaring independence. Amid tensions, in recent years, China has stepped up its military pressure on Taiwan, prompting the self-governing island to alert its air defences as well. 

Beijing has reportedly also released military propaganda warning Taipei to "prepare for war" as it establishes stronger ties with the United States. Now, experts have voiced concerns not just about the prospect of military warfare, but cyber warfare, too.

(Image: AP/Pixabay)