Categories: Asia NewsFront Page

Chinese hackers steal Australia spy agency blueprints

Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr says a report alleging Chinese hackers stole plans for Australia’s new intelligence hub will not hit ties with Beijing.

On Monday the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported blueprints setting out the building’s cable layouts and security systems had been illegally accessed by a server in China.

Bob Carr did not comment directly on the claims.

But he said the government was “very alive” to cyber security threats.

“I won’t comment on whether the Chinese have done what is being alleged or not,” he said.

“I won’t comment on matters of intelligence and security for the obvious reason: we don’t want to share with the world and potential aggressors what we know about what they might be doing, and how they might be doing it.”

Bob Carr said the ABC report had “no implications” for a strategic partnership.

“We have enormous areas of co-operation with China,” he said.

The claims were made in a report on Chinese cyber-espionage by ABC’s Four Corners investigative programme on Monday night.

Chinese hackers stole plans for Australia’s new intelligence hub

The programme alleged that blueprints to the new intelligence headquarters in Canberra – due to be finished last year but delayed – were stolen in a cyber attack on a contractor that was traced to a server in China.

The plans detailed communications cabling and server locations, floor plans and security systems, the programme alleged.

It quoted Professor Des Ball, an expert on cyber security from the Australian National University, as saying access to such details would enable an outside party to identify rooms used for sensitive activities and work out how to monitor them.

The programme also alleged that the Prime Minster’s Office, the Defence Ministry and the Department of Foreign Affairs had been breached in hacking operations.

Four Corners did not identify the source of its information.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei rejected the claims, saying “groundless” accusations would not solve the problem of cyber hacking.

“Since it is technically untraceable, it is very difficult to find the source and identify the hacker,” he said.

“Therefore we have no idea what is the evidence for their report in which they make the claim with such certainty.”

Earlier this year, hackers from China – which is now Australia’s biggest trading partner – were thought to be behind an attack on the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Australian Financial Review reported.

The issue of cyber espionage looks set to be high on the agenda when the US and Chinese presidents hold their first summit in California next month.

Earlier this month, the Pentagon for the first time directly accused the Chinese government and military of targeting US government computers as part of a cyber espionage campaign aimed at collecting intelligence on US diplomatic, economic and defence sectors.

China called the report “groundless”, saying it represented “US distrust”.

6pg07OomR5Q pvorV3dJsF0
Diane A. Wade

Diane is a perfectionist. She enjoys searching the internet for the hottest events from around the world and writing an article about it. The details matter to her, so she makes sure the information is easy to read and understand. She likes traveling and history, especially ancient history. Being a very sociable person she has a blast having barbeque with family and friends.

Recent Posts

Spain: At Least 158 Killed In The Country’s Worst Flooding Disaster

At least 158 people have died in Spain's worst flooding disaster in generations. On October…

2 days ago

Russia Fines Google $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, Surpassing Global GDP

Google has been fined two undecillion (a two followed by 36 zeroes) roubles by a…

2 days ago

Financing Your Home Remodel: 7 Tips for Success

Embarking on a home remodel is an exciting journey, promising enhanced comfort, increased property value,…

2 weeks ago

Donald Trump Serves Up McDonald’s Fries While Kamala Harris Celebrates 60th Birthday with Church Choir

The US presidential candidates continued to campaign across key swing states on October 20. Footage…

2 weeks ago

America PAC: Elon Musk Promises to Award $1M Each Day to Swing States Voters

Elon Musk has said he will give away $1 million a day to a registered…

2 weeks ago

Canada Expels 6 Indian Diplomats Amid Khalistan Row

India and Canada have decided to expel their top envoys along with other diplomats as…

3 weeks ago