Australia’s intelligence head Mike Burgess has warned that China-backed hackers are probing the country’s critical infrastructure and have in some cases gained access. Burgess, who leads the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, stated that at least two Chinese government-backed hacking groups are pre-positioning for sabotage and espionage.
These comments were made during a conference speech in Melbourne. They echo similar remarks by the United States government, which has warned that ongoing hacking campaigns may pose risks of economic and societal disruption.
According to Burgess, a hacker group known as Volt Typhoon is trying to break into critical infrastructure networks such as power, water, and transportation systems. He warned that successful hacks could affect energy and water supplies and cause widespread outages.
The United States has previously stated that these Chinese hackers have spent years planting malware on critical infrastructure systems. This malware is capable of causing disruptive cyberattacks when activated. United States officials said that Volt Typhoon’s goals are to hamper the American response to China’s anticipated future invasion of Taiwan.
Burgess expressed deep concern about the threat, stating that he does not think we truly appreciate how disruptive and devastating this could be. He said that once the hackers have access, what happens next is a matter of intent, not capability.
Burgess also warned about another China-backed hacking group dubbed Salt Typhoon. This group is known for hacking into the networks of phone and internet companies to steal call records and other sensitive data. It is also targeting the country’s telecoms infrastructure.
According to the FBI, Salt Typhoon has hacked more than two hundred phone and internet companies, including AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen, along with several other cloud and data center providers. These hacks prompted the FBI to urge Americans to switch to end-to-end encrypted messaging apps to avoid having their calls and text messages accessed by the hackers.
The Canadian government also confirmed earlier this year that its telecommunications companies were breached as part of China-linked attacks. China has long denied all of the hacking allegations.