However, Australia will not identify which country was responsible.
A “sophisticated state-based actor” has been attempting to hack a wide range of Australian organisations for months and had stepped up its efforts recently, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday.
The attacks have targeted all levels of the government, political organisations, essential service providers and operators of other critical infrastructure, Morrison said in a media briefing in Canberra. “We know it is a sophisticated state-based cyber actor because of the scale and nature of the targeting,” he said.
Morrison said there were not a lot of state actors that could launch this sort of attack, but Australia will not identify which country was responsible.
Australia's Defence Minister Linda Reynolds said advice showed no large-scale personal data breaches from the attack, as she urged businesses and organisations to ensure any web or email servers are fully updated with the latest software and the use of multi-factor authentication.
An Australian government source said Morrison's public declaration was an attempt to raise the issue with those who could be targeted. Australia's chief cyber intelligence agency said its investigations have so far found no evidence that the actor attempted to be “disruptive or destructive” once within the host's network.
Morrison said he had spoke with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday about the issue, while briefings to other allies have also been conducted.
The revelation comes after Reuters reported Canberra had determined in March last year that China was responsible for a hacking attack on Australia's parliament. Australia never publicly identified that source of the attack and China denied it was responsible.
A U.S. security ally, Australia strained ties with its largest trading partner, China, by pushing for an international inquiry into the source and spread of Covid-19 that first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.
Thank you for being a loyal user of Portfolio.
Portfolio will be a paid section hereon.
Please Subscribe to get access to one of our early bird packs.
Or click on Free Trial to get 14 days free trial.
What You'll Get
-
Web + Mobile
Access exclusive content of the Hindu Businessline across desktops, tablet and mobile device.
-
Exclusive Portfolio and Investment Advice, Banking, Lifestyle and Specials
Get diverse set of perspectives from our trusted experts on Portfolio, Banking, Economy, Environment and others.
-
Ad free experience
Experience cleaner site with zero ads and faster load times.
-
Personalised dashboard
Customize your preference and get a personalized recommendation of stories based on your interest.
Published on
June 19, 2020
A letter from the Editor
Dear Readers,
The coronavirus crisis has changed the world completely in the last few months. All of us have been locked into our homes, economic activity has come to a near standstill. Everyone has been impacted.
Including your favourite business and financial newspaper. Our printing and distribution chains have been severely disrupted across the country, leaving readers without access to newspapers. Newspaper delivery agents have also been unable to service their customers because of multiple restrictions.
In these difficult times, we, at BusinessLine have been working continuously every day so that you are informed about all the developments – whether on the pandemic, on policy responses, or the impact on the world of business and finance. Our team has been working round the clock to keep track of developments so that you – the reader – gets accurate information and actionable insights so that you can protect your jobs, businesses, finances and investments.
We are trying our best to ensure the newspaper reaches your hands every day. We have also ensured that even if your paper is not delivered, you can access BusinessLine in the e-paper format – just as it appears in print. Our website and apps too, are updated every minute, so that you can access the information you want anywhere, anytime.
But all this comes at a heavy cost. As you are aware, the lockdowns have wiped out almost all our entire revenue stream. Sustaining our quality journalism has become extremely challenging. That we have managed so far is thanks to your support. I thank all our subscribers – print and digital – for your support.
I appeal to all or readers to help us navigate these challenging times and help sustain one of the truly independent and credible voices in the world of Indian journalism. Doing so is easy. You can help us enormously simply by subscribing to our digital or e-paper editions. We offer several affordable subscription plans for our website, which includes Portfolio, our investment advisory section that offers rich investment advice from our highly qualified, in-house Research Bureau, the only such team in the Indian newspaper industry.
A little help from you can make a huge difference to the cause of quality journalism!
Support Quality Journalism