Security concerns have been raised over plans to install Chinese-owned technology on a powerful supercomputer used by government agencies and Australian universities.

Key points: National Computational Infrastructure to buy IT software from Chinese company Lenovo

National Computational Infrastructure to buy IT software from Chinese company Lenovo Concern about Lenovo raised by Pentagon, NCI scientists

Concern about Lenovo raised by Pentagon, NCI scientists ANU insists strict protocols were followed

The cutting edge National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) is based at the Australian National University and provides support to organisations including the CSIRO, Geoscience Australia and the Bureau of Meterology.

Last week the Canberra research facility confirmed it would be buying new IT software and hardware from Lenovo, a Chinese owned company.

In recent weeks defence officials at the Pentagon have expressed concerns about Lenovo, recommending its products not be used in some American military facilities.

Those security concerns are shared by some scientists at NCI who have told the ABC they are worried about the move.

Peter Jennings, the director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the ANU scientists had good reason to express alarm.

"I think what we really need to know here is what steps did the ANU take to satisfy itself that these systems don't have installed computer back doors that can later be used by outside actors to steal Australian Intellectual property," Mr Jennings said.

Lenovo said in a statement to the ABC that the Pentagon had previously said there was "no directive against using" their products.

"In addition to being a long-standing customer, the US Government has approved five Lenovo merger and acquisition transactions over the past 10 years, after conducting thorough security reviews," the statement said.

"The Pentagon's chief information officer, Terry Halvorsen, has publicly stated in the past that there is no directive against using Lenovo products within the Department of Defence and that any such directive would be contrary to well-established US Government procurement law and policy."

This year the Australian Cyber Security Centre Threat report acknowledged a foreign government had managed to install malicious software — known as malware — on the Australian Bureau of Meterology's computer system to steal sensitive documents.

The attack which occurred last year also breached sensitive systems across the Federal Government.

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Mr Jennings believes the Government's cyber security watchdog needed to again be called in.

"Just as the Australian Signals Directorate was brought in to look at the Bureau of Meteorology and also the Bureau of Statistics it should now look at this computing capability at the ANU to assure everybody that Australia's intellectual property is not at risk," he said.

In a statement the ANU insisted stringent protocols had been followed.

"ANU is fully satisfied with all due diligence associated with the decision to appoint XENON Systems to supply a Lenovo NeXtScale system for the NCI's facilities," the university told the ABC.

The university has also pointed out Lenovo was listed as an authorised government supplier and added "Lenovo demonstrated to NCI that all of the company's firmware (low level software) was developed in the United States."

"The firmware is encrypted by a digital signature which acts as a fingerprint to prevent tampering," it said.

The ABC has contacted the Federal Government for comment.

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