Chinese authorities have exposed more than 1,300 foreign cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure and key sectors throughout 2024, with estimated losses reaching $1.79 trillion, according to a thorough report released by the National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team.
Foreign cyberattacks on Chinese infrastructure surpass 1,300 incidents in 2024, with damages totaling $1.79 trillion.
The investigation revealed that government agencies, education, research, defense, and transportation sectors bore the brunt of these sophisticated attacks, with analysts attributing many incidents to U.S.-based threat actors.
During the 2025 Asian Winter Games, Chinese cybersecurity teams documented significant attacks targeting network infrastructure in Heilongjiang Province. Through detailed attribution analysis examining tactics, techniques, procedures, and temporal patterns, investigators traced the operations to cloud servers located in European countries, primarily the Netherlands and Germany, which were allegedly used as proxy hosts by U.S. intelligence agencies.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun expressed serious concern about the malicious activities, noting that China experienced approximately 1,800 account compromises per minute throughout 2024.
The financial sector emerged as a primary target, with projections indicating potential losses could escalate to $2.16 trillion by the end of 2025. China accounted for roughly 17% of global data breaches during this period. Recent attempts by Chinese hackers to infiltrate U.S. telecom providers have led to increased tensions between the two nations.
In response to these threats, Chinese authorities have intensified their cybersecurity measures and international cooperation efforts, including the repatriation of over 1,200 Chinese nationals from Myanmar involved in cyber scam operations. Security analysts noted that these attacks align with previous observations of state-sponsored threats, particularly from Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
Officials stated they would submit detailed attack evidence to public security authorities while continuing to implement necessary protective measures.
The surge in cyber espionage activities has been particularly notable, with attacks against financial, media, manufacturing, and industrial sectors increasing by up to 300%.
State-backed cyber operations particularly rose by 150% in 2024, with concurrent campaigns observed targeting Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
Chinese officials highlighted that these findings demonstrate China’s position as one of the primary victims of global cyberattacks, condemning malicious activities against international civilian exchanges.
