Australia has been issued with a “sobering warning” of potential cyber attacks on critical infrastructure, with experts flagging the possibility of foreign actors lying dormant waiting to “flick the switch”.
Cyber security experts have warned foreign nations will start to target and “disable” Australian critical infrastructure to cause the “whole system to collapse”.
Australia’s severe under investment in cyber security was flagged as a growing risk during a session of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security on Friday.
The committee is conducting an inquiry into proposed legislation on critical infrastructure to broaden the definition and to empower the Australian Signals Directorate to “enhance security and resilience” of assets.
Senator James Patterson, who chairs the committee, told Sky News the evidence on Friday provided a “sobering warning” about the threat posed to Australia by foreign actors.
The Senator said his focus was less on criminal or ransomware attacks, but on Australia’s susceptibility to crippling assaults on important infrastructure like water, oil, gas and electricity.
Senator Paterson said eminent cyber security experts from Australia and abroad told the committee it was likely foreign actors were “already on our critical infrastructure networks”.
“Dormant foreign state actors effectively lying in wait to potentially do damage to a critical infrastructure asset as a prelude to a regional crisis with the motivation of disabling Australia and preventing us from coming to the aid of our friends and allies”, Senator Paterson said.
“That is very sobering warning from some very eminent experts.
“That’s a profoundly disturbing insight but a very real one and it demonstrates the need why Australian companies and businesses – particularly those in systemically important areas – must drastically lift the level of their cyber security and their res ..
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