Australia hit by 'sophisticated' cyber-attacks. Is China to be blamed?
In a worrisome development, the Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison, has revealed that all levels of the government as well as its private sector, including businesses providing essential services, are facing sophisticated state-sponsored cyber attacks. However, he did not exactly reveal who is behind these hacks. This comes amid concerns of cyber attacks on Indian establishments by Chinese hackers. Can the two be linked?
Morrison announced cyber attacks are being carried out
In a press briefing on Friday, Morrison announced that the country is being targeted by sophisticated cyber attacks. He said that the hacks have happened over the past few months and are increasing, making it necessary for businesses and other establishments to ramp up their security and technical defenses. The PM also noted that Australia's cyber defense agencies had already thwarted "many" hacking attempts.
Goal to raise awareness, not concerns: Morrison
"We raised this issue today not to raise concerns in the public's mind, but to raise awareness in the public's mind," Morrison said. "We know what is going on. We are on it, but it is a day-to-day task."
Which Australian organizations have been attacked?
Morrison did not name specific institutions but said the attacks have been carried out against all levels of the "government, industry, political organizations, education, health, essential service providers and operators of other critical infrastructure". However, he went on to emphasize that none of the attacks have led to a major breach of personal data of the public.
Several attacks reported in the last 5 years
In the last five years, Australia has witnessed several attacks, including the case of a state-sponsored hack against the parliament and political parties of the country. Among others, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, a government contractor, Australian National University, and several firms, including steelmaker BlueScope, logistics firm Toll Group, and government-backed Service New South Wales, have also been targeted with cyber attacks.
State-sponsored threat actor but no specifics yet
Morrison claimed "the scale and nature of the targeting" clearly suggests that it is a state-sponsored hack. He added, "There are not a large number of state-based actors that can engage in this type of activity" but did not name any country. Experts cited by BBC suggested it could be China, which was also suspected to have carried out the parliament cyber-attack in 2019.
China has one of the largest hacking communities
The relations between China and Australia have grown worse following the latter's support to the US to investigate the origin of the coronavirus. The Chinese cyber group is capable of carrying out attacks on this scale; it is believed to be the largest in the world, with over 3 lakh hackers. Other nations closely matching them are Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
