The head of Australia’s primary security agency, Mike Burgess, has issued a stark warning about the rising threat of cyber-enabled sabotage targeting the country’s critical infrastructure. Speaking to business leaders, the Asio chief highlighted that unprecedented levels of espionage are being carried out by a specific nation-state, which he identified as China.
This concerted effort is focusing on vital sectors such as water, transport, telecommunications, and energy networks, not only in Australia but also in allied nations. Burgess stated that authoritarian regimes are increasingly willing to move beyond simple intelligence gathering to disrupt and destroy, creating a growing danger over the next five years.Burgess specifically named two Chinese hacking groups, Salt Typhoon and Volt Typhoon, confirming they are operated by Chinese government intelligence and the military.
While these groups have been involved in the theft of sensitive information, their most perilous capability is the threat of systemic sabotage and disruption to essential services. Salt Typhoon, for example, has engaged in espionage by breaching telecommunication networks in the US, and similar probing activity has been observed in Australia.
The spy chief stressed that Volt Typhoon’s intent is explicitly disruptive, with hackers compromising critical infrastructure networks to enable potential, future sabotage.The intelligence chief emphasized the severe and devastating potential of these cyber-attacks. He noted that authoritarian regimes are increasingly willing to use sabotage to impede decision-making, damage the economy, undermine war-fighting capability, and sow social discord. To illustrate the danger, he referenced short telecommunication outages that, even when accidental, have caused significant, widespread societal disruption.
Burgess asked the audience to consider the implications if an adversarial nation-state were to take down all networks simultaneously, shut off power during a heatwave, contaminate drinking water supplies, or cripple the financial system.Beyond critical infrastructure, spies are also broadening their collection requirements and aggressively targeting the private sector. Foreign intelligence services are now actively seeking out Australian companies’ sensitive data, including customer information, as well as private sector projects, negotiations, and investments to gain a commercial advantage for foreign entities.
These espionage activities are inflicting a major economic toll on Australia. Conservative estimates show that espionage cost the nation A$12.5 billion in 2023–24, which includes approximately A$2 billion worth of trade secrets and intellectual property stolen from Australian companies in a single year.Burgess concluded by detailing the highly advanced nature of the threat actors’ abilities. He described the hackers’ capabilities as “highly sophisticated, using top-notch tradecraft” to locate networks, test vulnerabilities, and breach digital security measures. Once inside, these groups aggressively map systems and work to establish and maintain persistent, undetected access.
This level of compromise allows them to conduct acts of sabotage at a time and moment entirely of their own choosing, posing a strategic and immediate threat to national security and economic stability.
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