ScoMo's secret cyber weapon: PM hires Trump cabinet secretary who led global campaign against Huawei to protect Australia against hacking attacks
- Former US Secretary of Homeland Security advising Australia on China spying
- Kirstjen Nielsen has joined government's cyber security industry advisory panel
- In 2018 she was instrumental in convincing Australia to ban Huawei from 5G
One of Donald Trump's former cabinet secretaries who led the fight against tech giant Huawei is advising Australia on how to combat Chinese espionage.
Kirstjen Nielsen, the former US secretary of homeland security, has joined the federal government's industry advisory panel on cyber security.
As one of President Trump's key advisers, Ms Nielsen was instrumental in driving the American ban on Huawei installing 5G mobile technology.
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Kirstjen Nielsen - one of Donald Trump's former cabinet secretaries who led the fight against tech giant Huawei - will soon be advising Australia on how to combat Chinese espionage
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In early 2018, she lobbied former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull to ban Huawei from being connected to this critical piece of infrastructure.
In August of that year Mr Turnbull, in one of his last acts as PM, barred Huawei from being allowed to set up any part of Australia's 5G network, adding to a 2012 ban on the company installing the National Broadband Network.
Ms Nielsen quit as President Trump's homeland security secretary in April 2019 and in November of last year joined the Australian government's industry advisory panel on cyber security, although it wasn't announced at the time.
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton's office on Wednesday confirmed she had joined this panel, chaired by Telstra chief executive Andy Penn.
His spokeswoman issued a statement to Daily Mail Australia:
Kirstjen Nielsen, the former US Secretary of Homeland Security, has joined the federal government's industry advisory panel on cyber security
'Ms Nielsen brings a wealth of cyber security knowledge to the Panel from her experience in defending U.S. Government and critical infrastructure networks from cyber security attacks,' it said.
'She will provide valuable insights on how Australia can work with its international partners to address global cyber security threats from nation states and criminal groups.'
Mr Turnbull's successor Scott Morrison on Friday last week revealed a 'sophisticated state-based actor' had been targeting companies, hospitals, schools and government officials.
He didn't name China as the culprit of these cyber attacks but intelligence experts were quick to suggest Australia's biggest trading partner was responsible, in retaliation for the ban on Huawei installing 5G.
Ms Nielsen's appointment was announced as a Lowy Institute poll found just 23 per cent of Australians trusted China, half the level of a year ago.
Former Labor prime minister Julia Gillard's government banned Huawei from installing the National Broadband Network in March 2012.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute's director of national security strategy Michael Shoebridge said Chinese law compelled technology companies to cooperate with government agencies for intelligence gathering purposes.
'The fact that a sophisticated state actor, almost certainly Beijing, is conducting persistent intrusive cyber attacks against a range of Australian organisations across government and many sectors of the economy simply highlights the need to secure Australia's digital critical infrastructure,' he told Daily Mail Australia.
Mr Shoebridge said the revelations of recent days justified the 2018 ban on Huawei installing 5G, which is also policy in the United States.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday last week revealed a 'sophisticated state-based actor' had been targeting companies, hospitals, schools and government officials. He is pictured with Chinese President Xi Jinping
'Giving the technology firms of a country whose government conducts such cyber attacks against Australia the ability to build key chunks of our digital backbone in the form of 5G would only give that state access to be even more successful cyber intruders than they are without such internal access and knowledge,' he said.
'It's hard to see how that could be in Australia's interests - or the interests of other governments internationally who face the same risks.'
On Friday, intelligence sources told the ABC that China's hacking of Australian data bases was a retaliation at Huawei being barred from installing 5G.
Huawei's founder Ren Zhengfei was a member of the People's Liberation Army before founding his technology company in 1987.
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