TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The digital ministry’s Administration for Cyber Security on Saturday reported 82 cybersecurity incidents in March, the highest in six months.

The surge was largely driven by distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks targeting more than 20 agencies, including local governments and tax offices, per CNA. The attacks caused website slowdowns and outages but did not compromise any internal systems.

DDoS attacks flood servers with excessive traffic to overwhelm systems and disrupt service. The agency likened the tactic to crowds blocking a service counter, preventing legitimate users from gaining access.

Roughly 30% of March’s incidents involved DDoS attacks, affecting local government portals, judicial bodies, and health agencies. The digital ministry and cybersecurity officials coordinated with affected units to implement rapid response measures.

Authorities have not determined whether the attacks came from a single source. Hackers often use relay servers to mask their identities, making attribution difficult, the agency said. No system breaches have been reported to date.

The agency also identified external connections from government systems that matched known malicious software patterns. In one case, users downloaded fake Line installation files from lookalike websites that installed backdoor malware.

While the fake Line downloads have not caused harm, affected users were notified, the infected devices were cleaned, and internal cybersecurity training has been reinforced.