China has been blamed for a cyber attack on Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology that may have compromised computer systems across the federal government, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported, citing unidentified sources. The security breach will cost millions of dollars to fix as other agencies that receive information from the bureau have been affected, the national broadcaster said, citing official sources it didn’t identify. READ MORE: China, US to hold high-level talks on hacking, cybersecurity There was little doubt the source of the attack was China, the broadcaster cited one official as saying. The weather bureau declined to comment on security matters, beyond saying it worked closely with government security agencies. The bureau’s “systems are fully operational”, according to a statement on its website. The office of Attorney General George Brandis did not immediately respond to e-mailed request for comment on the report. China has previously denied reports of hacking, including claims reported by the Daily Telegraph in 2011 that its intelligence agencies accessed the e-mails of senior Australian officials including then prime minister Julia Gillard. READ MORE: China denies hacking data on four million US government staff The US has previously accused China of hacking American companies to steal industrial trade secrets. The motivation for the attack on the weather bureau could be commercial, strategic or both, the ABC reported. The defence department said in an e-mailed statement the government “does not publicly discuss specific cyber activities or incidents”.
