China is being blamed for a major cyber attack on the computers at the Bureau of Meteorology, which has compromised sensitive systems across the Federal Government.
Key points:
- ABC told there is little doubt the "massive" breach came from China
- Motivation for attack could be commercial, strategic or both
- Bureau provides critical information to a host of agencies, including link to Defence Department
- Could "take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars to fix"
Multiple official sources have confirmed the recent attack and the ABC has been told it will cost millions of dollars to plug the security breach, as other agencies have also been affected.
The bureau owns one of Australia's largest supercomputers and provides critical information to a host of agencies.
Its systems straddle the nation, including one link into the Department of Defence at Russell Offices in Canberra.
Cyber attacks on government agencies are routine and the "adversaries" range from thrill-seeking hackers, through to criminals and foreign states.
But the ABC has been told this is a "massive" breach and one official said there was little doubt where it came from.
"It's China," he said.
The motivation for the attack on the bureau could be commercial, strategic or both.
The bureau is a critical national resource and another state would place a high value on its intellectual property and scientific research.
In the event of a conflict, compromising Australia's ability to accurately forecast weather would affect the operation of military and commercial aircraft.
Beyond that, the bureau provides a gateway to other agencies.
In March the Bureau's chief executive Robert Vertessy told Radio National that his agency had evolved "from what was once just a straight weather service to what I would call now a more broad-based environmental intelligence agency".
It provides weather and climate forecasting, tsunami warnings, tide predictions, water resources and even space weather.
There is no clear picture yet how much the breach will cost to fix or how long it will take but the critical nature of the bureau's services means its systems cannot be switched off for repair.
In the words of one source: "It could take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars to fix."
The ABC has sought comment from the bureau, the Prime Minister's office and the Chinese embassy
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