Over the past two decades, political cyberattacks have become a powerful new weapon used to interfere in elections, steal state secrets, and spread disinformation across borders. While the United States, China, and Russia are all key players in the cyber battlefield, both as targets and as suspected aggressors, the U.S. falls far behind in total number of these attacks.
According to data presented by TechGaged.com, China and Russia have collectively carried out over 700 political cyberattacks since 2000, or ten times more than the United States.
Over 20% of all political cyberattacks come from China or Russia, and only 2% from the U.S.
With global tensions rising, the Internet has become dangerous for politics and national safety. That is why the world`s largest economies continue pouring billions of dollars into cyber capabilities, turning cyberspace into a key area of global power struggles.
China, Russia, and the United States all play significant roles in global cyber conflicts and are the three countries mentioned most when talking about political cyberattacks. Despite being the global leader in cyber operations, the United States is often a target of these attacks, while China and Russia use cyberattacks much more often for political goals. The latest data from the European Repository of Cyber Incidents shows just how wide the gap really is.
Between 2000 and 2024, Russia, long accused of hacking elections and spreading disinformation, launched more political cyberattacks than any other country in the world, or 378 in total. China came in second with 340 attacks, mostly linked to cyber espionage and data theft, ranking as the second-largest threat in this field.
Combined, the two countries carried out 718 political cyberattacks or 21% of all known incidents in this period. Statistics show Iran and North Korea were home to about 4.5% of the cyber incidents, with 154 and 153 attacks over the past two decades. Ukraine also ranked among the active players, launching around 2.5% or 85 of political cyberattacks in this period.
Meanwhile, the global leader in cyber operations, the United States, was responsible for just 69 confirmed political cyberattacks in the past 24 years, or only 2% of the total. Turkey and Pakistan were the only countries behind the U.S., with 1.4% and 1.3% shares, respectively.
More than half of all political cyberattacks are still unknown or not attributed
Although official figures point to China and Russia as dominant forces in the world of political cyberattacks, the actual numbers may be even higher. Many of these attacks are carried out by state-backed hackers, making it extremely difficult to know who’s really behind them.
Since 2000, cybercriminals have performed over 3,000 political cyberattacks, but more than half remain unknown or not attributed. Around 25% are classified as unknown, meaning there is no clear idea yet who was behind them. Another 27% are not attributed, meaning investigators have strong suspicions but no official confirmation, often due to political reasons, lack of evidence, or the risk of escalation.
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