Australian PM: another state was behind cyber strike

A “SOPHISTICATED state actor” was behind a cyber attack on the Australian parliament’s computing systems that also affected the network used by the country’s major political parties, the prime minister said yesterday.

Scott Morrison did not identify the state behind what he described as a “malicious intrusion” on Friday Feb 8.

He revealed that the computer networks used by the government parties – the Liberal Party and the Nationals – and the opposition Labor Party had been affected.

Australia’s security agencies were securing those systems and protecting users, he said.

“Our cyber experts believe that a sophisticated state actor is responsible for this malicious activity,” Mr Morrison said. “Let me be clear, though – there is no evidence of any electoral interference. We have put in place a number of measures to ensure the integrity of our electoral system.”

The Australian Cyber Security Centre, the government’s main cyber security

‘Let me be clear, though – there is no evidence of any electoral interference’

agency, had briefed federal and state election authorities, he said.

New South Wales will hold state elections on March 23. A federal election is due to be held in May.

At the time of the attack, a joint statement was released by Tony Smith, the speaker of the house of representatives, and Scott Ryan, the senate president, who said there was no evidence that data had been accessed.

Duncan Lewis, the director general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, would not comment on how deeply the attack had penetrated networks, but said there was no evidence that “electoral machinery” had been compromised. He would not say whether the attack had been neutralised, only that it was “being managed”.

Although Australian officials have not blamed any country, in 2011 it was reported that China was suspected of accessing the email system used by parliamentarians and staff.

Geng Shuang, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, cautioned against unsubstantiated accusations.