Chinese Hackers Linked to Attack on Australian Spy Agency

Secrets are not secure on the internet, with hackers intent on prying into every online nook and cranny. An Australian Broadcasting Corporation documentary claims that Chinese hackers have stolen the blueprint for Australia’s new intelligence agency before it even opens, reports Neil Hume for the Financial Times. China is Australia’s largest trade partner. “The report also claimed several government departments, including defence and foreign affairs, had been breached in sustained hacking operations. Australian companies with interests in China had also been targeted by hackers,” he writes. The Australian report follows a similar report in the US that Chinese hackers have gained access to designs of multiple US weapons systems. Such reports about state-sponsored hacking, rumors or not, could dampen enthusiasm among big trade partners for Chinese telecommunications and electronics products, as well as Chinese students and staff. Australia has declined to confirm the report, but the prime minister characterized it as “inaccurate”; the Chinese government denies culpability, stresses its opposition to hacking and demands evidence. – YaleGlobal