Bangkok Post

F-35 stealth fighter data stolen

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SYDNEY: Sensitive data about Australia’s F-35 stealth fighter and P-8 surveillan­ce aircraft programmes were stolen when a defence subcontrac­tor was hacked with a tool widely used by Chinese cyber criminals, officials said yesterday.

The 50-person aerospace engineerin­g firm was compromise­d in July last year but the national cyber security agency, the Australian Signals Directorat­e (ASD), only became aware of the breach in November, technology website ZDNet Australia reported.

Some 30GB of “sensitive data” subject to restricted access under the US government’s Internatio­nal Traffic in Arms Regulation­s rules were stolen, ASD’s Mitchell Clarke told a security conference on Wednesday, according to ZDNet.

Mr Clarke, who worked on the case and did not name the subcontrac­tor, said informatio­n about the F-35, the US’s latest generation of fighter jets, as well as the P8, an advanced submarine hunter and surveillan­ce craft, were lifted.

Another document was a wireframe diagram of one of the Australian navy’s new ships, where a viewer could “zoom in down to the captain’s chair”.

The hackers used a tool called “China Chopper” which according to security experts is widely used by Chinese actors, and had gained access via an internetfa­cing server, he said.

In other parts of the network, the subcontrac­tor also used internet-facing services that still had their default passwords “admin” and “guest”.

Those brought in to assess the attack nicknamed the hacker Alf after a character on the popular Australian soap Home and Away, Mr Clarke said. The three month period where they were unaware of the breach they dubbed “Alf’s Mystery Happy Fun Time”.

Defence Industry Minister Christophe­r Pyne told reporters in Adelaide “the informatio­n they have breached is commercial”.

“It is not classified and it is not dangerous in terms of the military,” he said.

Mr Pyne added that Australia was increasing­ly a target for cyber criminals as it was undertakin­g a massive Aus$50 billion (1.3 trillion baht) submarine project which he described as the world’s largest.

The nation has also committed to buy 72 F-35A aircraft for $17 billion.

He would not comment who might be behind the breach.

Western government­s have long accused hackers in China of plundering industrial, corporate and military secrets.

The revelation­s came just days after Assistant Minister for Cyber Security Dan Tehan said there were 47,000 cyber incidents in the last 12 months, a 15% jump from the previous year.

A key worry was 734 attacks that hit private sector national interest and critical infrastruc­ture providers during the period, Mr Tehan said.

Last year, the government’s Cyber Security Centre revealed that foreign spies installed malicious software on the Bureau of Meteorolog­y’s system.

 ?? AFP ?? Australia’s newest warship the HMAS ‘Hobart’, an air warfare destroyer, is moored at the Garden Island naval base in Sydney yesterday. Sensitive data about Australia’s aircraft programmes have been stolen after a defence subcontrac­tor was hacked.
AFP Australia’s newest warship the HMAS ‘Hobart’, an air warfare destroyer, is moored at the Garden Island naval base in Sydney yesterday. Sensitive data about Australia’s aircraft programmes have been stolen after a defence subcontrac­tor was hacked.

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