China conducts ‘massive’ hack of major Australian govt. system that compromised national security

(Cyberwar.news) Chinese hackers are once again being blamed for a major cyber attack, this time on an Australian government system that experts and officials say compromised national security Down Under.

As reported by Australia’s ABC, hackers believed to be associated with the Chinese government accessed computers at the Bureau of Meteorology, “which has compromised sensitive systems across the Federal Government.”

Multiple officials confirmed the attack to ABC, the network reported, adding that it will cost millions of dollars to shore up the security breach because of the number of agencies affected.

The Meteorology bureau operates one of the continent’s largest supercomputers which provide important data to several agencies, including a link to the Australian Department of Defense offices in Canberra.

Australian officials admitted that cyber attacks on government agencies are common and that the threats vary. But they described the latest attack as a “massive” breach that left little doubt where it originated.

“It’s China,” said one unnamed official.

As always, Chinese officials have denied that Beijing was involved in the attack.

“As we have reiterated on many occasions, the Chinese government is opposed to all forms of cyber attacks,” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.

“We have stressed that cyber security needs to be based on mutual respect.

“We believe it is not constructive to make groundless accusations or speculation,” Hua continued.

However, Peter Jennings, head of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said there was enough evidence to indicate the Chinese were responsible for the hack.

“We certainly know that among the most active intelligence gatherers is Chinese intelligence,” said Jennings.”So what we understand of the Chinese attack on the BoM is entirely consistent with what we know of how Chinese intelligence operates.”

It wasn’t clear if any U.S. or other allied intelligence or defense agencies were compromised by the breach. Australia is a member of the “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance that also includes the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand.

Australian officials said the motive behind the breach could be strategic, commercial or both.

“The bureau is a critical national resource and another state would place a high value on its intellectual property and scientific research,” ABC reported. “In the event of a conflict, compromising Australia’s ability to accurately forecast weather would affect the operation of military and commercial aircraft.”

See also:

Australian Broadcasting Corporation