cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/45483766 > Australia’s spy chief says hackers linked to the Chinese government and military are targeting the country’s critical infrastructure, warning the country was increasingly at risk of “high-impact sabotage”. > > Mike Burgess, head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (Asio), said “unprecedented levels of espionage” meant a growing threat of “cyber-enabled sabotage” in the next five years. > > He singled out “one nation state - no prizes for guessing which one - conducting multiple attempts to scan and penetrate critical infrastructure in Australia” and its allies, “targeting water, transport, telecommunications, and energy networks”. > > The Chinese embassy has been contacted for comment. > > Authoritarian regimes were now more willing to “disrupt and destroy,” Burgess warned. > > He cited two Chinese hacking groups, Salt Typhoon and Volt Typhoon, who have targeted telecommunications companies in the US and Australia. > > “These groups are hackers working for Chinese government intelligence and their military,” he told business leaders at a forum in Melbourne on Wednesday. > > “Both groups were involved in the theft of sensitive information, but the real danger was the threat of sabotage - disruption to critical infrastructure.” > > […]