History repeating

There have been reports recently that threat groups linked to Chinese state interests hacked a US Navy contractor to steal 600GB of data. And earlier this year, FireEye found that state-controlled Chinese hackers have increased attacks against US companies to obtain information related to bid prices, contracts and mergers and acquisitions.

In further observations, we witnessed Chinese cyber-espionage group TEMP.Periscope undertake attacks on US engineering and defence companies linked to the disputed South China Sea, seeking information that would benefit the Chinese government.

Closer to home, late last year we identified an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) Group, APT 19, attack law firms in Australia in an attempt to steal sensitive data, and we believe the same group successfully hacked an Australian research body earlier in the year.

This is all just in the past 18 months, and only referring to select incidents on the record.

Louis Tague managing director, A/NZ for FireEye says Australia cannot simply ignore Chinese cyber activity in order to preserve commercial deals.

Is it any wonder that Australia and nations around the world are wary to hand over access of their infrastructure and influence?

Huawei ban


The government's rumoured banning of Huawei's involvement in the development and deployment of the nation's 5G infrastructure, even as a third party, may sound like paranoia to the layperson, but this concern over Huawei is not new.

In 2012 the then-Labor led federal government banned Huawei from tendering for work on the rollout of the National Broadband Network – a decision held up by the Coalition government when it took power a year later.

It appears that Australian caution when it comes to China's involvement in its infrastructure is both embedded and bi-partisan.

Threat groups linked to Chinese interests hacked a US Navy contractor. ANDY WONG

It's hardly alone: the Pentagon recently ordered retail outlets on US military bases to stop selling Huawei and ZTE phones as the Department of Defence said the devices could pose a "security risk".

One key concern behind these bans is that the Chinese-made technology could potentially contain backdoors which weaken other nations' ability to hold onto confidential information, including intellectual property and financial data and top-secret information such as military secrets.

Given the history of hacking detailed earlier, this level of caution is understandable.

The need to be on guard


It's clear that China is now brazenly conducting espionage operations against other nations in the region and against defence-related targets. Australian organisations need to ensure their defences are up to speed, and that they are equipped to detect and respond to these attacks. A growing roster of nation-states are finding new ways to get in.

But the fact is that Australia's businesses are not as prepared as they should be to protect themselves. The first report released by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner in April as part of the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme highlighted that, in a little over a month, 63 breaches were deemed significant enough to notify the government and 44 per cent of those were the result of malicious or criminal attack.

These figures should concern Australian organisations of all sizes.

More education into the nature of the threats is essential so that businesses better understand and manage the risks posed by cyber-attacks – everything from their intellectual property to their operations are at risk if their defence is poor or cyber security risk isn't effectively managed.

Additionally, we need to find ways to address the shortage of cyber-security experts in the field who can help businesses understand and mitigate threats.

Nothing should come at the cost of a weakened cyber security posture, and the private sector has its own role to play in building and maintaining Australia's defence against cyber threats.

Louis Tague is the managing director, A/NZ for FireEye