Australia under cyberattacks from state actor
SYDNEY AFP, 19 JUNE, 2020Australia’s prime minister revealed Friday his country was under a broad cyberattack from a “statebased actor” targeting government, public services and businesses, with suspicions falling on China.
Warning Australians of “specific risks” and an increased tempo of attacks, Scott Morrison told a press conference that a range of sensitive institutions had been hit.
“This activity is targeting Australian organisations across a range of sectors, including all levels of government, industry, political organisations, education, health, essential service providers and operators of other critical infrastructure,” he said.
Morrison levelled blame at a “sophisticated state-based cyber actor”, but declined to name the culprit, while saying that it could only come from one of a handful of states. China, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Russia, the United States and a number of European countries are known to have developed advanced cyber-warfare capabilities.
But suspicions immediately fell on Beijing, which has clashed repeatedly with Canberra as it looks to increase the cost of Australia speaking out against Communist Party interests. Public broadcaster ABC cited “senior sources” confirming that China was believed to be behind today’s ongoing attacks as well.
Beijing has previously described such allegations as “irresponsible” speculation and an attempt to “smear” China.