The Federal Government is urging Australia's political parties to steel themselves against potential foreign cyber attacks, as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull prepares to announce an unprecedented cyber security briefing for political parties to be held in Canberra early next month.

Assistant Minister for Cyber Security Dan Tehan said the Government had been shocked by a United States intelligence report claiming Russia ordered a hidden campaign to influence the US presidential election.

The report, prepared by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency, said Russia had hacked into the email accounts of the Democratic National Committee.

It also raised concerns Russia used state-funded trolls to make nasty comments online, with Republican affiliates also targeted to a lesser extent.

Mr Tehan said every Australian political party must be vigilant and raised some concern about the upcoming Western Australia and Queensland elections.

"We're heading into a new election cycle, we've got two state elections coming up this year," he said.

"We have to make sure our political processes, our democratic processes, are protected from this type of intrusion.

"We want to make sure — and the Prime Minister is adamant about this — that across the board, and this goes beyond politics, that everyone is putting the proper mitigations in place."

The US intelligence report found Russian President Vladimir Putin likely wanted to discredit Democratic nominee Hilary Clinton, blaming her for mass protests against his Government in 2011 and 2012.

Mr Tehan said the Prime Minister's special adviser on cyber and the Australian Cyber Security Centre would outline potential dangers at the briefing.

He said there was no suggestion that Australia's democratic institutions had already been breached.

"But that doesn't mean we don't have to make sure that all our political parties have the correct processes and procedures in place to keep themselves secure," he said.

"Australian democracy is something that we have to preserve, it's something that we have to cherish, it's something that we have to protect."

Officials from the Australian Signals Directorate have also been asked to oversee briefings with political parties.

Former director-general of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service David Irvine has previously raised concerns about the threat of hacking by foreign governments.

Government departments already targeted

Federal Government departments have already been penetrated by sophisticated cyber attacks, potentially compromising sensitive and confidential information.

In 2016, ABC News revealed Austrade and the Defence Department's elite research division, the Defence Science Technology Group, had been infiltrated by Chinese-based hackers.

A foreign power also managed to install malicious software on the Australian Bureau of Meteorology's computer system to steal sensitive documents, which may have compromised other Government departments.

The Turnbull Government announced a $230 million cyber security strategy in April 2016, after concerns it was vulnerable to foreign attacks amid an "unprecedented" level of malicious activity.

The Government acknowledged the strategy would include "offensive strikes" to protect national interests.