Mainland China names 4 Taiwanese in cyberattack, fake news accusations online

Beijing’s Ministry of State Security names four from the island’s internet defence command behind several attacks in recent years

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Authorities in Beijing have accused an internet analytical centre that comes under the Taiwanese defence ministry of orchestrating efforts to infiltrate the Chinese mainland. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 2:03pm, 17 Mar 2025Updated: 2:19pm, 17 Mar 2025

Beijing’s top spy agency has accused four members of the Taiwanese defence ministry’s Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM) of conducting cyberattacks against the Chinese mainland and churning out fake news.

In a social media post on Monday, the Ministry of State Security (MSS) published the names and photographs of the leaders and staff of ICEFCOM’s internet analytical centre and said they had been targeting the mainland with cyberattacks since at least 2023.

It was the first time the MSS has published such detailed information about individuals from Taiwan, with the social media post also featuring their dates of birth, Taiwanese identity numbers and specific job titles.

According to the ministry, ICEFCOM was acting as lackeys of “Taiwan independence separatist forces”, carrying out cyberattacks and infiltrating the Chinese mainland.

The MSS statement said that hackers and cybersecurity companies hired by ICEFCOM to “steal state secrets and sabotage” infiltrated key infrastructure systems on the mainland including water, electricity, gas, heating, communications and network-based cameras.

The Taiwanese cyberforce sent phishing and counterpropaganda emails to key units in party, government and military enterprises in mainland China, according to the MSS statement on its official social media account.