NATION Outrage at hackers

Government joins global condemnation of Chinese theft plot

THE federal government has demanded China close down an intelligence service-backed hacking group engaged in a global plot to steal intellectual property from the West.

Two Chinese nationals have been charged in the US over their alleged membership of the hackers operating in China and known in global intelligence circles as Advanced Persistent Threat 10, of APT10.

The group, acting on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of State Security, has targeted companies and government agencies in at least a dozen countries trying to access intellectual property and sensitive information.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said in a joint statement yesterday that APT10’s “sustained cyber intrusions” were significant and a “serious concern”.

The hackers have focused on large managed service providers – companies that manage IT services and infrastructure for medium-tolarge businesses and organisations – both in Australia and globally, the ministers said.

The government noted China had agreed at the G20 leaders meeting in 2015, and at a subsequent bilateral meeting in 2017, to “refrain” from hacking and cyber theft.

“Australia calls on all countries – including China – to uphold commitments to refrain from cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property, trade secrets and confidential business information with the intent of obtaining a competitive advantage,” the ministers said.

The government’s cyber security adviser Alastair MacGibbon said the plot was unprecedented.

“It’s the most audacious cybersecurity breach I’ve ever seen,” he said. “This is theft of essentially the lifeblood of economies.”