Nistha Kumari Singh
The Cyber Maze is a strategic framework for managing modern cyberattack patterns by prioritising adaptability, layered risk mitigation, and context-specific responses over rigid measures. It acknowledges that cyberattacks, whether state-sponsored campaigns, proxy actors, or novel attack vectors, are not straightforward, symmetric, or static. The framework advocates for a flexible strategy combining deterrence, diplomacy, and defence to adapt responses based onattacks and context. This framework is useful for countering China’s ambition to become a cyber superpower (Wangluo Qiangguo, 网络强国), a policy fueling its state-aligned cyber ecosystem.
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) cyber ecosystem is a “maze” of interconnected formal and shadow institutions, feeding into state-linked cyberattacks involving the People’s Liberation Army, the Ministry of State Security (MSS), and the Ministry of Public Security. A US Homeland Security report from February 2025 shows 224 cyber espionage incidents targeted at the US from China, with over 60 directly linked to the Chinese Communist Party.
China’s state-linked cyber operations connect to its desire for technological dominance, aiming to lead innovation in critical sectors like artificial intelligence, 5G infrastructure, and quantum computing while reducing foreign technology dependence. This ambition, pronounced in platforms such as Made in China 2025 and the 14th Five-Year Plan, drives geopolitical rivalry to counter Western cyber hegemony and maintain domestic stability. Experiences during the “century of humiliation” (1840-1949) have shaped Beijing’s strategic vision, justifying narratives by emphasising technological self-reliance and cybersecurity.
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