Chinese hackers reportedly attacked Australia’s Western parliamentary email network earlier this month as a part of a massive global cyber-attack involving Microsoft software.

The online strike, which was detected on March 4 in the middle of the state election campaign, prompted intervention from Australia’s cybersecurity watchdog in Canberra, reported Australian ABC. “Please be advised that the Parliament mail server has been hit with a cyber-attack,” WA politicians were warned at the time.

“Consequently, the mail server will be down until further notice,” a text message sent by the Department of Parliamentary Services advised.

An investigation by Western Australia’s Parliamentary Services Department has since concluded no sensitive data was stolen in the attack.

“As soon as we became aware of the attack, we immediately disconnected the email server,” WA’s Executive Manager of Parliamentary Services Rob Hunter told the ABC.

On March 3, and again on March 9, the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) published an alert on its website urging organisations using Microsoft Exchange to urgently patch a number of vulnerabilities.

Earlier this month, Microsoft said that the flaw was being used by a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group to target a variety of organisations.

Cybersecurity group FireEye said in a blog post late Thursday night that hackers had been in at least one client’s system since January, and that they had gone after “US-based retailers, local governments, a university, and an engineering firm,” along with a Southeast Asian government and a Central Asian telecom group.

Last week, Australian Assistant Defence Minister Andrew Hastie told the ABC the government would not publicly discuss which public or private organisations may have been hit by the attack.

“It’s time we start thinking about the cyber domain as a battlefield and you certainly don’t advertise where you’re weak, wounded or vulnerable on the battlefield,” he said.

In a statement, the Chinese Embassy described the allegation behind the attack as “deplorable”.

Last year, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that Australia’s government and institutions are being targeted by ongoing sophisticated state-based cyber hacks.

Morrison said the cyberattacks were widespread, covering “all levels of government” as well as essential services and businesses.

In 2019, the Australian National University said it had been hacked by a sophisticated operation that had accessed staff and student details.

Australia’s main political parties and parliament were hit by a “malicious intrusion” earlier in 2019, also attributed to a “sophisticated state actor”.

With ANI inputs

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday mocked his American counterpart Joe Biden for calling him a “killer”, saying “it takes one to know one”—as ties between Moscow and Washington sank to a new low.

Biden’s comments sparked the biggest crisis between Russia and the United States in years, with Moscow recalling its ambassador for consultations and warning that ties were on the brink of outright “collapse”.

“We always see in another person our own qualities and think that he is the same as us,” Putin said, referring to Biden’s “killer” comment. “It takes one to know one,” Putin added, citing a saying from his Soviet-era childhood in Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Leningrad. “That’s not just a children’s saying and a joke. There’s a deep psychological meaning in this.”

Putin added that he wished Biden health. “I’m saying this without irony, not as a joke.”

In the interview with ABC News on Wednesday, Biden said that Putin would “pay a price” for trying to undermine Biden’s candidacy in the US election in 2020.

Asked if he thought Putin was “a killer”, Biden replied: “I do”.

His comments stood in stark contrast with his predecessor, Donald Trump, who was often accused of going soft on Putin.

In recent years Russia’s relationship with Washington has gone from bad to worse, but there were calls in Moscow Wednesday for Russia to pause diplomatic relations with the US after Biden’s comments.

Meanwhile, a top Russian official said that Biden must apologise and take back “boorish” allegations that Putin is a killer, a top Russian official said.

Biden’s remark is a “watershed” in relations and “unacceptable in any circumstances,” Konstantin Kosachyov, deputy speaker of Russia’s upper house of parliament, wrote on Facebook Thursday. Moscow’s initial reaction—recalling its US ambassador—“won’t be the last, unless there is an explanation and an apology from the American side”.

The Foreign Ministry announced it was summoning Ambassador Anatoly Antonov for consultations in a statement late Wednesday. Warning of the risks of “an irreversible deterioration in relations” with the new US administration, the ministry said Russia still hopes to reverse the downward spiral in ties.

Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Thursday said that it was time for New Delhi and Islamabad to “bury the past and move forward”.

Addressing the Islamabad Security Dialogue, Gen Bajwa added that stable Indo-Pak relations were the key to unlocking the potential of South and Central Asia by ensuring connectivity between East and West Asia.

“The Kashmir issue is obviously at the heart of disputes. It is important to understand that without the resolution of Kashmir dispute through peaceful means, [the] process of sub-continental rapprochement will always remain susceptible to derailment due to politically motivated bellicosity,” Gen Bajwa said. He added, “Our neighbour will have to create a conducive environment, particularly in occupied Kashmir.”

The General’s comments came a day after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, while inaugurating the summit, had said that Pakistan was trying to bring in peace, but India would have to take the first step to normalize ties. Khan had said that having a direct route to the Central Asian region will economically benefit India. Central Asia is rich in oil and gas.

Drawing references from the Cold War, Gen Bajwa said frayed relations between various powers centres will ultimately lead to another Cold War and that it is these unsettled issues in South Asia that are dragging the entire region back into poverty and underdevelopment. “It is sad to know that even today it (South Asia) is amongst the least integrated regions of the world in terms of trade, infrastructure, water and energy cooperation,” he added.

Though, both PM Imran Khan and Gen Bajwa didn’t specify the minimum steps that India should take but many experts in Pakistan believe that some positive measures in Kashmir could ease pressure on the Pakistan government before entering into talks or restoring the normal diplomatic ties.

Gen Bajwa also talked about poverty which he said was linked with the regional tension that had hindered the regional connectivity and integration. “Despite being impoverished, we end up spending a lot of our money on defence, which naturally comes at the expense of human development,” he said. However, he added that Pakistan was resisting the temptation to become part of the arms race or increase defence budget despite rising security challenges.

Ties between India and Pakistan nose-dived after a terror attack on the Pathankot Air Force base in 2016 by terror groups based in the neighbouring country. This was followed by terrorist attack on an Army camp in Uri, and then the dastardly Pulwama attack on 26 February 2019, in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed. India retaliated Pulwama with an audacious air strike on the Balakot terror camp deep inside Pakistan.

Actor-turned-politician Jaya Bachchan has expressed her disappointment over Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat’s ripped jeans comment, saying this is the “mindset that encourages crimes against women”.

“Such statements don’t befit a chief minister. Those on higher posts must think before making public statements. You say such things in today’s times. Will you decide who’s cultured and who’s not on the basis of clothes? Rajya Sabha MP from Samajwadi Party, Jaya Bachchan said on Thursday while talking to ANI. “It’s bad mindset and encourages crimes against women,” she added.

The newly appointed Uttarakhand chief minister recently stirred a row by saying that women wearing ripped jeans send the wrong message to society and children.

Speaking at a workshop organised by the Uttarakhand State Commission for Protection of Child Rights in Dehradun, Rawat said that he was shocked to meet a woman, who runs an NGO, wearing ripped jeans on a flight with her kids. “What kind of message are we giving out to society,” he said.

Amid widespread condemnation of Rawat’s comments, several women, including politicians and celebrities, posted photos in ripped jeans with the hashtag #RippedJeansTwitter.

“Rapes happen not because women wear short clothes but because men like Tirath Singh Rawat propagate mysogyny and fail to do their duty. Stand in solidarity with the women in #RippedJeansTwitter (sic),” tweeted Swati Maliwal.

Haryana Chief Minister, Manohar Lal Khattar said that the 2.5 crore people of Haryana have every right over the land and it is the responsibility of the State Government to protect it. For this purpose, the Haryana Recovery of Damages to Property during Disturbance to Public Order Bill, 2021 was passed in the Vidhan Sabha today.

The Chief Minister was interacting with media persons today after the end of the Vidhan Sabha budget session.

He said that this law should have been made long ago. He said that it is the responsibility of the State Government to protect the property of the state, whether it is private or government. He said that no one benefits from the loss of property, in fact the loss of property leads to economic loss. He said that in a democracy everyone has the right to speak and protest peacefully, but no one has the right to damage property. He said that this bill will determine the responsibility of those who damage property as well as ensure compensation to the victim.

In response to a question Sh. Manohar Lal clarified that this bill has nothing to do with the agitating farmers presently. He said that it is necessary to instill fear in the minds of those who damage property and this is our constitutional legal system.

In response to a question asked by media persons in the context of the current budget session, he said that this session was special among the others during the tenure of six and a half years.

While regarding the same, the leaders of opposition Bhupender Singh Hooda took on the ruling faction saying that the bill has been brought in force to threaten the commuters and farmers. The government is leaving no stone unturned to increase the problems of farmers. Even, such laws to punish those spreading violence and chaos are in force already then there is no need of bringing such laws in existence.