China under suspicion of launching 'massive' cyber-attack against the Australian government

China is under suspicion of a major cyber attack launched against Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology . The said attack reportedly compromised sensitive national security information and other systems across the federal government.

According to ABC, several sources confirmed the hack, telling the news site that it will take millions of dollars to patch the security breach. Sources explained that other agencies were also affected. The bureau houses one of Australia's largest supercomputers. It is also in charge of providing critical information to several agencies. For instance, it is connected to the Department of Defence at Russell Offices in Canberra.

Whereas cyber attacks are normal for government agencies, the recent one was considered "massive." It is different from the routine hacks that come usually from "adversaries" like foreign states or other criminals.

The attack was from China, an official told ABC. China, on other hand, said it did not have anything to do with the attack.

"As we have reiterated on many occasions, the Chinese government is opposed to all forms of cyber attacks," said Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.

"We have stressed that cyber security needs to be based on mutual respect.We believe it is not constructive to make groundless accusations or speculation."

Peter Jennings, Australian Strategic Policy Institute executive director, argued that there is proof on China's involvement on the case. According to Jennings, Chinese intelligence is among the most active gatherers. He explained that their knowledge of how Chinese intelligence works coincides with what happened to the BoM.

It is not clear yet why the attack was launched. Speculations revolve around the attack being commercial, strategic or simply both. As mentioned, the bureau handles critical information that may be of value to other states when accessed. For instance, if Australia is in conflict and loses its ability to predict weather accurately, military and commercial aircraft operations can be compromised. The BoM is also considered as a gateway to other agencies.

"They're looking for the weakest link and so if you go into an agency, which may have a level of security clearance, but perhaps not as high as central parts of the national security community, maybe there are weaknesses they can exploit which will enable them to then move into other, more highly-valued targets," said Jennings.

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