{"id":35610,"date":"2020-06-19T16:21:42","date_gmt":"2020-06-19T16:21:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/packetstormsecurity.com\/news\/view\/31319\/Australian-PM-Morrison-Warns-Of-Sophisticated-State-Hack.html"},"modified":"2020-06-19T16:21:42","modified_gmt":"2020-06-19T16:21:42","slug":"australian-pm-morrison-warns-of-sophisticated-state-hack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/australian-pm-morrison-warns-of-sophisticated-state-hack\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian PM Morrison Warns Of Sophisticated State Hack"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"ScottImage copyright<\/span> EPA<\/span> <\/span>
Image caption<\/span> Scott Morrison said the “malicious” activity had been increasing over months <\/span> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Australia’s government and institutions are being targeted by ongoing sophisticated state-based cyber hacks, Prime Minister Scott Morrison says.<\/p>\n

Mr Morrison said the cyber attacks were widespread, covering “all levels of government” as well as essential services and businesses.<\/p>\n

He declined to identify a specific state actor and said no major personal data breaches had been made.<\/p>\n

The attacks have happened over many months and are increasing, he said.<\/p>\n

The prime minister said his announcement on Friday was intended to raise public awareness and to urge businesses to improve their defences.<\/p>\n

But he stressed that “malicious” activity was also being seen globally, making it not unique to Australia.<\/p>\n

Who has been targeted?<\/h2>\n

Mr Morrison did not name specific cases but said it had spanned “government, industry, political organisations, education, health, essential service providers and operators of other critical infrastructure”.<\/p>\n

He did not give further details. Previously, defence manufacturers, government contractors and accounting firms have been among those to report data breaches.<\/p>\n

Image copyright<\/span> Getty Images<\/span> <\/span>
Image caption<\/span> Australia’s parliamentary network was the subject of an attack in 2019 <\/span> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Last year, the Australian National University said it had been hacked<\/a> by a sophisticated operation which had accessed staff and student details.<\/p>\n

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

Who is behind it?<\/h2>\n

Speaking on Friday, Mr Morrison said officials had identified it as a state hack “because of the scale and nature of the targeting and the trade craft used”. <\/p>\n

“There are not a large number of state-based actors that can engage in this type of activity,” he said, without giving specifics.<\/p>\n

When asked to identify a country, Mr Morrison said he would not make “any public attribution”.<\/p>\n