Australia under state based cyber-attacks

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has issued a statement related to malicious cyber activities against national networks. According to the statement, the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) has reported that the Australian organisations (ranging from government institutions to industry, from operators of critical and health infrastructure to education) are being targeted by a sophisticated state-based cyber actor. While Morrison didn’t attribute the attacks to any country, he clarified that the scale and nature of targeting and skills used makes it clear that it is a state-based actor. Other sources from the government stipulate that China is behind the attacks, ABC News reports; the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), on the other hand, explains why China is the only state that might have such capabilities. In response, China’s spokesperson denied the informal speculations, and blamed ASPI to be a US-funded anti-Chinese institution, while China Daily also linked ASPI to the ban of Huawei in Australia.