A cyber attack this month on Australian lawmakers was probably carried out by an unidentified foreign country, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday, adding that the networks of major political parties were breached ahead of an election due by May.
Lawmakers were this month told to urgently change their passwords after Australia’s cyber intelligence agency detected an attack on the national parliament’s computer network.
The hackers breached the networks of Australia’s major political parties, Morrison said, as he issued an initial assessment by investigators.
“Our cyber experts believe that a sophisticated state actor is responsible for this malicious activity,” he told parliament, “We also became aware that the networks of some political parties, Liberal, Labor and Nationals have also been affected.”
Morrison did not reveal what information was accessed, but he said there was no evidence of election interference.
Australians will return to the polls by May.