According to the budget plan, which still needs legislative approval, the programme would focus on “proactive cyber threat hunting”, moving the military beyond conventional defences, such as firewalls and post-attack remediation, towards actively searching networks for hidden threats.
Taiwan’s defence ministry did not identify where the foreign instructors would come from, but local media reports suggest they would mainly be from the United States. The instructors are expected to introduce realistic adversarial training comparable to the US military’s Cyber Flag exercises, according to the Taipei-based Liberty Times.
Like detectives following clues, team members would be trained to search military networks and critical infrastructure during peacetime for hostile hackers bypassing existing defences and concealing themselves inside systems, the outlet said.
The Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command is an independent branch of Taiwan’s military specialising in digital warfare, with responsibilities that include cyber operations, electronic warfare, military communications resilience and the protection of critical infrastructure.
The planned threat-hunting team would identify and eliminate hidden intruders and back doors before an adversary launched an attack, while bringing Taiwan’s cyber capabilities more in line with international practices, according to the report.
The plan comes as Taipei and Washington expand military exchanges well beyond arms sales, with American military personnel, civilian defence officials and contractors increasingly involved in advising, training and observing forces from the island.
