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ABC Television says secret data stolen in major cyber attack on foreign affairs office housing overseas spy agency.
Last Modified: 28 May 2013 06:10
Carr says Australia's relationship with China will not be damaged by the hacking allegations [Getty Images]
Chinese hackers have reportedly stolen plans for a new $600m Australian spy headquarters as part of a growing wave of cyber attacks against business and military targets of the US ally.
The hackers also stole confidential information from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which houses the overseas spy agency the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, Australia's ABC Television said late on Monday.
The ABC report, which did not name sources, said that Chinese hackers had targeted Australia-based companies more aggressively than previously thought, including steel-manufacturer Bluescope Steel, and military and civilian communications manufacturer Codan.
The influential Greens party said on Tuesday that the reported hacking was a "security blunder of epic proportions" and called for an inquiry.
"I think there can be a proper investigation, an independent investigation, into this sorry saga of the ASIO building," Christine Milne, head of the Greens party, said.
However, the Australian government has refused to comment directly on the allegations.
Relationship 'not damaged'
Bob Carr, Australia's foreign minister, said that the report would not damage the country's ties with its biggest trade partner China.
"I won't comment on whether the Chinese have done what is being alleged or not," he said.
"I won't comment on matters of intelligence and security for the obvious reason: we don't want to share with the world and potential aggressors what we know about what they might be doing, and how they might be doing it."
The report follows several other hacking attacks on government facilities in the past two years.
The attack through the computers of a construction contractor exposed building layouts and the location of communication and computer networks, the ABC said.
The ASIO building, being built near the location of Australia's top-secret Defence Signals Directorate, is supposed to have some of the most sophisticated hacking defences in the country, which is part of a global electronic intelligence gathering network including the US and the UK.
But its construction had been plagued by delays and cost blowouts, with some builders blaming late changes made to the internal design in response to cyber attacks.
Security priority
Australian officials, like those in the US and other Western nations, have made cyber attacks a security priority following a growing number of attacks of the resource rich country, mostly blamed on China.
Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei was barred last year from bidding for construction contracts on a new Australian high-speed broadband network amid fears of cyber espionage.
The Reserve Bank of Australia said in March that it had been targeted by cyber attacks, but no data had been lost or systems compromised amid reports that the hackers had tried to access intelligence on Group of 20 wealthy nations negotiations.
In the US, the Pentagon's latest annual report on Chinese military developments accused China for the first time of trying to break into US defence networks, calling it "a serious concern".
China has dismissed as groundless both the Pentagon report and a February report by the US computer security company Mandiant, which said a secretive Chinese military unit was probably behind a series of hacking attacks targeting the US that had stolen data from 100 companies.
Chinese hackers access U.S. weapon systems and steal blueprints to Australia’s new spy HQ months before it has even opened
Hackers have 'compromised' U.S. designs for combat aircraft and ships
They also accessed missile defenses vital for Europe, Asia and the Gulf
Floorplans of Australia Security Intelligence Organisation's new $630m headquarters have also been stolen - before it has even been opened
China has dismissed claims it is connected to the latest cyber attacks
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER PUBLISHED: 08:10 GMT, 28 May 2013 | UPDATED: 13:13 GMT, 28 May 2013
Chinese hackers have accessed designs for more than two dozen U.S. weapons systems and stolen the blueprints for Australia's new spy headquarters which hasn't even been opened yet. These latest strikes come after months of numerous computer security breaches involving Chinese hackers as the ongoing cyber war between China and the West intensifies. Hackers have now 'compromised' U.S. designs for combat aircraft and ships, as well as missile defenses vital for Europe, Asia and the Gulf, it has emerged.
Security risk: Chinese hackers have 'compromised' U.S. designs for its weapon systems and stolen the floorplans of Australia Security Intelligence Organisation's new HQ
The Washington Post learned of the breach from a Pentagon report prepared for the Defense Department by the Defense Science Board.
Among the weapons listed in the report were the advanced Patriot missile system, the Navy's Aegis ballistic missile defense systems, the F/A-18 fighter jet, the V-22 Osprey, the Black Hawk helicopter and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The report did not specify the extent or time of the cyber-thefts or indicate if they involved computer networks of the U.S. government, contractors or subcontractors. But the espionage would give China knowledge that could be exploited in a conflict, such as knocking out communications and corrupting data, the Post said. It also could speed Beijing's development of Chinese defense technology.
Chinese hackers stole plans for confidential United States weapons systems including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter pictured here
In a report to Congress earlier this month, the Pentagon said China was using espionage to modernize its military and that its hacking was a serious concern. It said the U.S. government had been the target of hacking that appeared to be 'attributable directly to the Chinese government and military'. China has dismissed as groundless both the Pentagon report and a February report by the U.S. computer security company Mandiant, which said a secretive Chinese military unit was probably behind a series of hacking attacks targeting the United States that had stolen data from 100 companies. Meanwhile, news reports in Australia claim hackers linked to China stole the floorplans of the $630 million headquarters for the Australia Security Intelligence Organisation, the country's domestic spy agency.
'Compromised': A V-22 Osprey pictured here is among the aircrafts for which plans were stolen
The attack through the computers of a construction contractor exposed not only building layouts, but also the location of communication and computer networks. Australia security analyst Des Ball told the ABC in the report that such information made the yet to be completed spy headquarters vulnerable to future cyber attacks.
'You can start constructing your own wiring diagrams, where the linkages are through telephone connections, through wi-fi connections, which rooms are likely to be the ones that are used for sensitive conversations, how to surreptitiously put devices into the walls of those rooms,' said Ball.
The building is designed to be part of a global electronic intelligence gathering network which includes the United States and the UK, but its construction has been plagued by delays and cost blowouts, with some builders blaming late design changes on cyber attacks.The ABC report said the Chinese hacking was part of a growing wave of cyber attacks against business and military targets in the close U.S. ally.
It said the hackers also stole confidential information from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which houses the overseas spy agency the Australian Secret Intelligence Service and had targeted local companies, including steel-manufacturer Bluescope Steel, and military and civilian communications manufacturer Codan Ltd.
Chinese hackers allegedly associated with the country's government stole United States missile plans for weapons such as Patriot missile batteries (pictured here)
The influential Greens party said the hacking was a 'security blunder of epic proportions' and called for an inquiry, but the government refused to confirm the breach. Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the reports were 'inaccurate', but declined to say how.
Australian officials, like those in the United States and other Western nations, have made cyber attacks a security priority following a growing number of attacks of the resource rich country, mostly blamed on China.
Despite being one of Beijing's major trade partners, the country is seen by China as the southern fulcrum of the U.S. military pivot to the Asia-Pacific and in 2011 agreed to host thousands of U.S. Marines in near-permanent rotation. Australia is a major buyer for U.S. weapons systems and is one of the largest overseas customers for the Lockheed Martin manufactured F-35, as well as for Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet and associated weapons systems.
Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei was last year barred from bidding for construction contracts on a new Australian high-speed broadband network amid fears of cyber espionage.
Hacked: The New York Times office in Manhattan. The newspaper has reported that its computer system was breached by Chinese hackers
The Reserve Bank of Australia said in March that it had been targeted by cyber attacks, but no data had been lost or systems compromised amid reports the hackers had tried to access intelligence on Group of 20 wealthy nations negotiations.China has dismissed the allegations by Australian media that Chinese hackers have stolen the blueprints for the new Australian spy headquarters.
Foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said: 'China pays high attention to cybersecurity issues, and is firmly apposed to all forms of hacker attacks. Groundless accusations will not help solve this issue.'
The risk of cyber hacking came to the forefront of the news agenda after Chinese hackers were accused of being responsible for hacking The Washington Post and The New York Times earlier this year. And just last month, hacking attacks on the servers of South Korean broadcasters and banks originated from an IP address based in China.
But China says it is impossible to tell the true origin of cyber-attacks, and accuses hostile forces of blaming it out of prejudice or a desire to put Beijing on the defensive.
Under attack: The Washington Post spent most of 2012 trying to deal with Chinese hackers who infiltrated their computer network
Chinese hackers 'access sensitive US weapons systems'
Designs for some of the United States’ most important and sensitive weapons systems have been “compromised” by Chinese hackers according to a confidential report.
Among the defence systems listed in the report are the advanced Patriot missile system Photo: ALAMY
By Tom Phillips, Shanghai
1:49PM BST 28 May 2013
The document, which was provided to the Pentagon by the Defence Science Board, an influential advisory body, said that more than two-dozen key weapons systems had been affected, including missile defense systems, fighter jets, helicopters and navy vessels.
Among the defence systems listed in the report are the advanced Patriot missile system, or PAC-3, the F/A-18 fighter jet, the Black Hawk helicopter and the V-22 Osprey, which is able to perform vertical takeoffs and landings.
It was not clear from the report, extracts of which were published by the Washington Post, when or how the designs had been compromised and its authors stopped short of accusing the Chinese government of attempting to steal the information.
But senior military sources pointed the finger directly at Beijing, telling the Post the security breaches were part of a “widening Chinese campaign of espionage against US defence contractors and government agencies.”
Such information could help China speed up the development of its own weapons system while also giving the Asian giant an advantage in any military conflict with the US, the Post reported.
Mark Stokes, the executive director of the Project 2049 Institute, a think tank that focuses on Asia security issues, described the list of affected systems as “staggering”.
“These are all very critical weapons systems, critical to our national security. When I hear this in totality, it’s breathtaking,” he told the newspaper.
A senior military official who declined to be named added: “This is billions of dollars of combat advantage for China. They’ve just saved themselves 25 years of research and development. It’s nuts.”
China dismissed the report as groundless.
In March, Thomas Donilon, President Barack Obama’s security advisor, said “cyber-intrusions” had reached an “unprecedented scale” and took the unusual step of publicly calling on Beijing to “take serious steps to investigate” allegations about the hacking of US interests.
On Monday, Mr Donilon met with Xi Jinping, the Chinese president in Beijing ahead of a two-day summit between Mr Xi and Mr Obama that will start in California on June 7.
Mr Donilon reportedly told Mr Xi that Mr Obama was “firmly committed to building a relationship defined by higher levels of practical cooperation and greater levels of trust, while managing whatever differences and disagreements might arise between us.”
China’s state-run media quoted Mr Xi as saying that US-China relations were at a “critical juncture”.
In a separate meeting with Fan Changlong, a senior Chinese military leader, Mr Donilon called for deeper military ties between the US and China, including working together in areas including peacekeeping, piracy and disaster relief.
Cyber-security is likely to be high on the agenda when the two leaders meet next month on a private estate in Rancho Mirage, southern California.
Separately, on Monday, Australia’s ABC Television claimed that Chinese hackers had stolen the blueprints for the new £402 million headquarters of their domestic spy agency, the Australia Security Intelligence Organisation.
Hong Lei, a Chinese foreign minsitry spokesman, when asked about the report, said: “China pays high attention to the cyber security issue and is firmly opposed to all forms of hacker attacks.”
China has repeatedly denied involvement in cyber attacks on foreign companies and governments.
