Taiwan is bracing for Chinese cyberattacks, White House official says

Taiwan's political and military leadership are all hands on deck in anticipation of a cyberwar with Beijing— and Washington is ready to back their networks up, a senior White House official said at the POLITICO Tech Summit on Wednesday.

"From President Tsai [Ing-wen] on down, they're very focused on increasing the cybersecurity and digital resilience of Taiwan," said Anne Neuberger, the deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technologies.

Neuberger, who has generally been tight-lipped on Taiwan, added the island is well aware of China's formidable cyber capabilities, especially when it comes to cyberattacks and espionage. And things are only looking to get more tense in the region, with Taiwan preparing for a presidential election in January.

To provide timely support to Taiwan during a major cyberattack, Neuberger said the U.S. will send its best teams to help hunt down the attackers, the same approach typically used to help global allies in cyberspace.

"The support we typically provide international partners around the world would be putting our best teams to hunt on their most sensitive networks to help identify any current intrusions and to help remediate and make those networks as strong as possible."

Neuberger also said the U.S. is working closely with Taiwan through ongoing military tabletop games and exercises to prepare for any potential crippling cyberattacks.

Conflict in Taiwan — both cyber and on land — is a growing concern for Washington and its allies, even as China has repeatedly warned the U.S. against intervening.