THE BUREAU of meterology has refused to comment on claims it was hacked in a “massive” cyber attack that compromised sensitive systems across the federal government.

On Wednesday the ABC reported a “massive” breach that could cost millions of dollars to fix as the bureau owns a supercomputer that provides crucial information to other agencies.

While government agencies are routinely subject to attacks, one official said the latest attack was definitely “China”.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister said the government was aware that the Bureau had been attacked and was working to review its security policy.

However China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the government is opposed to “all forms” of cyber attacks and believed speculation was “not constructive”.

The bureau said in a statement it does not comment on security matters, but added:

“The bureau’s systems are fully operational and the bureau continues to provide reliable, on-going access to high quality weather, climate, water and oceans information to its stakeholders.”

Motivations for the attack are unclear, however the ABC said they could be commercial, strategic or both.

Earlier this year, the Australian Cyber Security Centre warned that attempts to compromise government, business and other networks of national importance were regularly identified.

“Cyber adversaries are constantly adapting their techniques in an attempt to breach security and compromise Australian networks,” the government body said in a report.

In 2013, Chinese hackers were accused of stealing the top-secret blueprints of Australia’s new intelligence agency headquarters.

Two years earlier, the computers of the prime minister, foreign minister and defence minister were all suspected of being hacked in attacks reportedly originating in China.