Australian Government joins global condemnation of Chinese espionage, warning local businesses hit

Extract from ABC News

By political reporter Matthew Doran

Updated 13 minutes ago

Photo: Foreign Minister Marise Payne called on G20 countries to refrain from cyber-enabled theft. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)

Related Story: US charges Chinese spies for major hacking campaign targeting navy, NASA and more

Australian officials have confirmed local companies are among the global victims of an extensive campaign of cyber espionage attacks backed by the Chinese Government.

Key points:

• Marise Payne and Peter Dutton issued a statement voicing Australia's "serious concern" about the hacking allegations
• Australia has not named and shamed Beijing for such behaviour before
• The National Cyber Security Adviser said the group had been targeting IT companies around the world

The confirmation came after the US Justice Department charged two Chinese citizens, alleging they carried out hacking at the direction of Beijing's Ministry of State Security.
It is the first time Australia has named China as responsible for such behaviour, marking a change in rhetoric and diplomatic pressure from Canberra.
National Cyber Security Adviser Alastair MacGibbon said the group had been targeting IT companies around the world that provide services to medium and large businesses.

"This is audacious, it is huge, and it impacts potentially thousands of businesses globally. We know there are victims in Australia," Mr MacGibbon told RN Breakfast.

He would not detail which Australian businesses had fallen victim to the hacking, but argued the intellectual property theft disadvantaged local companies and their staff.
"And that essentially takes food from the people of Australia," Mr MacGibbon said.
"It helps them compete in a way that we can't."

Video: Australia's Ambassador for Cyber Affairs Tobias Feakin on Chinese cyber espionage (ABC News)

Australia's Ambassador for Cyber Affairs Tobias Feakin argued Australia was taking a big step in naming and shaming China for its support of hacking.

"This is incredibly significant, we've never done this before. This is the first time we've ever actually named this particular country in relation to this issue," Dr Feakin told AM.

"The language that we're using, we feel, represents how strongly we feel about this, which is incredibly strong.
"As an international community, as Australia, we are now far more robust in the way that we will name and shame, and we will shine a light on activities that we think are unacceptable."
Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton issued a statement shortly after US officials announced the charges, voicing Australia's "serious concern" about the hacking allegations.
"When it is in our interests to do so, Australia publicly attributes cyber incidents, especially those with the potential to undermine global economic growth, national security and international stability," the pair said in a statement.
"Australia calls on all countries — including China — to uphold commitments to refrain from cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property, trade secrets and confidential business information with the intent of obtaining a competitive advantage.

"These commitments were agreed by G20 leaders in 2015. Australia and China reaffirmed them bilaterally in 2017."