Australia's prime minister said Friday his country was under a broad cyberattack from a "state-based actor" targeting government, public services and businesses, with suspicions falling on China.
Warning Australians of "specific risks" and an increased frequency of attacks, Scott Morrison told a hastily organised press conference that a range of sensitive institutions had been hit.
"This activity is targeting Australian organisations across a range of sectors, including all levels of government, industry, political organisations, education, health, essential service providers and operators of other critical infrastructure," he said.
He levelled blame at a "sophisticated state-based cyber actor", but declined to name the culprit, saying only that it could only come from one of a handful of states.
China, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Russia, the United States and a number of European countries are known to have developed cyberwarfare capabilities.
Suspicions immediately fell on Beijing, which has recently slapped trade sanctions on Australian products amid an escalating row over Chinese influence.
Public broadcaster ABC cited "senior sources" confirming that China was believed to be behind the attacks.
Australia enraged China by calling for an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic and by accusing China of fuelling a virus "infodemic" and engaging in economic "coercion".
China -- increasingly unwilling to tolerate criticism of its more aggressive foreign policies -- has warned its students and tourists against going to Australia, threatened more sanctions and sentenced an Australian citizen to death for drug trafficking.
Beijing and Canberra have also sparred over access to natural resources, maritime claims and the use of Chinese state-backed technology companies.
Last year Australia's parliament and political parties were ..
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