From Matt Siegel at Reuters:
A major cyber-attack against Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology that may have compromised potentially sensitive national security information is being blamed on China, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported on Wednesday.
The Bureau of Meteorology owns one of Australia’s largest supercomputers and the attack, which the ABC said occurred in recent days, may have allowed those responsible access to the Department of Defense through a linked network.
The ABC, citing several unidentified sources with knowledge of the “massive” breach, placed the blame on China, which has in the past been accused of hacking sensitive Australian government computer systems.
Source: China behind ‘massive’ cyber-attack on Australian government: ABC | Reuters
Why would any organisation public or private have networks holding really, really critical information connected to the internet? When I have worked in secure environments the really important stuff was on its own network totally separate from other corporate / internet access. Two pcs one for secure access the other for everything else. On the secure network everything was locked down, all access and transfers monitored, logged and restricted.
If it is connected to the internet expect it to be hacked.
If you want it protected don’t connect it to the internet.
No worries. There are no big secrets to be found.
There’s nothing to worry about; she’ll be right!
Everyone knows the Australian Department of Defense is incompetent. They don’t even have a computer system to process their documentation. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (more public servants) processes it for them.
Anyway, any information found on the computers would either be outdated, incorrect, a complete joke or all of the above.
This is why a separate government body for “border protection” (more public servants) had to be established earlier this year.
Many of the tens of thousands of Department of Defense ranked officers (employed through tax payers funds) are simply receiving attendance money.
The only things worthy of discovery by the Chinese hackers are the degree of self importance and the level incompetence.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/video/watch/30214849/army-fail-heavy-price-for-major-army-bungle/#page1