Australia will develop a cyber defense strategy in light of the recent cyber attacks on global companies and government officials.

Government officials admitted Friday morning that government networks are constantly attacked. Reuters reported that the Prime Minister and the Cabinet will combat these attacks with the white paper, a policy document that will cover everything from state-sponsored attacks to hacker groups. The Cyber White Paper will outline the role of the government, industry and the public in protecting Australian interests online. The strategy paper will be completed in the first half of 2012.

The rising concern over cyber attacks, comes after Google Inc. was hacked that targeted U.S. officials. The Internet giant attributed the attacks to Chinese hackers. The United States is still assessing if their security has been severely compromised after the attacks. It has also questioned Beijing's intentions in cyberspace. Beijing has denied all accusations.

The Australian parliament has also been attacked by hackers. Last February at least 10 federal ministers including Prime Minister Julia Gillard had their confidential emails compromised by a cyber attack. Chinese intelligence agencies came under scrutiny for those raids but nothing was ever proven.

The Cyber White Paper will augment the government's other cyber initiatives like the Department of Defence's Cyber Security Operations Center. According to Attorney-General Robert McClelland cyber threats are a real and evolving danger to Australia's national defences. The white paper strategy will build on the government's existing 2009 Cyber Security Safety Strategy.