The string of hacking incidents around the world that targeted global firms such as Sony and Lockheed Martin may have prompted Aussie government agencies and private companies to step up their online security protocol but such is not the case, according to the latest Auditor General report.

In the case of Western Australia, Auditor General Colin Murphy said on Thursday that based on the experimental attack launched by investigators from the Edith Cowan University, the state government's information technology system is fraught with security loopholes that would allow easy access from determined hackers.

During the simulated cyber breach, Murphy said that investigators were able to log in on the IT systems of up to 14 government departments completely undetected, in which hackers from the university accesses and deleted secret documents without any response form the agencies' IT personnel.

The Auditor General was disturbed by the fact that key agencies such as the Department of Mines were practically susceptible to security breaches, considering the crucial function of these offices.

Murphy said that he was surprised by the result of the IT probe though he added that advisories have been sent out to the concerned government ministries and measures are now underway to bolster their online security.

He admitted that the very purpose of the test attacks was actually defeated because not one of the agencies launched their counter-measures during and after the breaches.

The Auditor General told ABC that "we expected that a greater number of agencies would detect the threats and the attacks, the fact that 14 out of 15 didn't even notice what was going on was quite a surprise."

Murphy noted too that the simulated attack was not even sophisticated as "we used software that's very easily obtainable from the internet so we downloaded this hostile software from the internet and deployed it against these agencies," which further heightened his concerns.

WA Premier Colin Barnett told ABC that he views the Audit General's report with grave concern as he stressed that "we are very conscious about negotiations with the mining companies, about major projects so we do take care and work with the Commonwealth Government in making sure we have high levels of security."

Barnett admitted that the spectre of online intrusions is now an emerging reality in both the realm of government and business operations.