Taiwan says it was targeted last month in AI-driven hacking campaign - CNA

• An Israeli cybersecurity firm reports that China-linked hackers launched the first end-to-end autonomous cyberattack against the Taiwanese government using an open-source AI tool. • The AI tool operated in real-time, continuously devising and executing effective hacking strategies without human intervention to breach government systems.

• Between July 1 and July 4, "near-autonomous" AI agents compromised 85 government user accounts and extracted over 2,500 personnel records. • The breach was uncovered by Israeli cybersecurity firm Dream, which analyzed a 160 MB archive containing 1,395 files documenting the operation.

• Autonomous AI agents compromised up to 85 government accounts across Asia during a targeted four-day cyberattack. • The breach extended beyond government offices to include critical infrastructure within nuclear and energy organizations.

• On August 13, 2026, STARTRADER launched 45 new stock and ETF CFDs, allowing clients to trade across seven distinct market themes 24/7 without trading-hour restrictions. • The expansion includes the addition of ZHIPU and MINIMAX, two Chinese AI companies that debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) in January 2026.

• Taiwan's Ministry of Digital Affairs reported that government agencies were targeted by AI-assisted cyberattacks originating from overseas last month. • The ministry confirmed that the affected government bodies successfully "handled" the incident, preventing significant damage or data breaches.

• In July 2026, the FDA advanced regulatory modernization by approving 17 generic peptide products, including high-profile drugs semaglutide and tirzepatide. • The agency issued new guidance tightening expectations for structural characterization, impurity thresholds, and immunogenicity testing for these peptides.

• Mistral is launching a new framework to strengthen European AI sovereignty by integrating local data processing, SLA-backed capacity, and open model choices. • The initiative introduces "European Compute Units," which provide organizations with multi-year access to infrastructure developed and managed by Mistral.

• Over 2,500 organizations, including industry giants like NVIDIA, Samsung, and Cisco, were potentially exposed in a major AI software supply-chain breach involving LiteLLM. • LiteLLM is an open-source tool used by developers to connect various applications with AI models, making it a critical point of failure in the software chain.

• A new report indicates that nearly 25% of the workforce in Southeast Asia is exposed to AI-driven disruption, with clerical, administrative, and professional roles facing the highest risk. • Manual trades, agricultural work, and craft positions remain relatively insulated from these technological shifts.

• Taiwan's government agencies were targeted in an overseas cyberattack during July, as detected by national cybersecurity monitoring units. • Hackers employed a hybrid approach, combining conventional hacking methods with AI agents to probe systems and search for sensitive data.

• Taiwan's Ministry of Digital Affairs reported being targeted last month by a sophisticated hacking campaign originating from an "overseas source." • The attackers utilized a hybrid methodology, combining traditional manual operations with AI agent-assisted attacks to steal credentials and sensitive data.