Australia’s spy chief warns China is the nation’s top hacking threat, with its understanding of domestic telecommunications networks so sophisticated they could “turn them off, should they need to”.
“They are working actively to understand our systems,” ASIO chief Mike Burgess told the Mitchell Unlimited podcast of foreign powers.
“I believe in some cases they could do it today,” he said.
ASIO director-general Mike Burgess warns Australia’s communications systems are at risk of hacking. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)
Mr Burgess urged calm among Australians, as it was unlikely our communications systems would be turned off unless we were at war.
But he warned people should not have highly sensitive conversations in their cars or near their phones, given foreign governments’ ability to listen in.
“China is the principal concern for Australia,” he said.
“China are preparing for this. But again, they’re not going to do it any time soon.
“Anything connected means it could be exploited by those who want to listen to what you’re saying or observe where you’ve travelled in that car. So that’s a vulnerability that we have today.”
The podcast echoed comments Mr Burgess made 10 months ago, telling a Melbourne business forum Australia was at the threshold for “high-impact sabotage”.
At the time, he cited Chinese hacking groups Salt Typhoon and Volt Typhoon, which have targeted telecommunications networks in Australia and the United States.
Australia’s Jewish community remains a major target for threats from foreign state actors. (James Ross/AAP PHOTOS)
He also reiterated a warning on the podcast that Australia’s Jewish community faced threats from foreign state actors, particularly Iran.
“(There is) no immediate threat that we’re investigating, but we do have that concern, and it’s not because of Australia. It’s because of their (Iran) hatred of Jews,” Mr Burgess said.
“I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that Iran would want to kill prominent Jewish Australians,” he said.
The state of Israel and the views of Jewish people had been conflated in public rhetoric, Mr Burgess said, leading to greater security concerns within Australia.
“It’s OK to be angry at the state of Israel. But how you deal with that anger, it really does matter,” he said.
ASIO has long warned Australians could be killed on home soil by a foreign actor – something Mr Burgess had “not changed” his view on.
