Australia says it can hack enemies as it invests $230 million in cyber security

The Australian government is watching and has the means to launch a cyber attack.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull introduced a massive A$230 million cash injection to arm the country for cyber security issues and deal with online threats it is facing, including cyber war and internal whistleblowers.

Within the new Internet strategy, pushed down to page 28, the government also makes clear it has the capabilities to launch a cyber attack if necessary. 

"Australia’s defensive and offensive cyber capabilities enable us to deter and respond to the threat of cyber attack," the report reads. "Any measure used by Australia in deterring and responding to malicious cyber activities would be consistent with our support for the international rules based order and our obligations under international law."

In Turnbull's statement, he also singled out the threat of "warmware," where an insider compromises government intelligence. In particular, the Edward Snowden leaks in 2013. 

"As the Snowden revelations demonstrate,often the most damaging risk to government or business online security is not ‘malware’ but ‘warmware’; the ability of an insider to cause massive disruption to a network or obtain and distribute classified material through legitimate access but unauthorised disclosure," Turnbull said. 

Snowden, an American National Security Agency contractor, was behind one of the most remarkable intelligence leaks in history, including at least 15,000 Australian intelligence files, that exposed global surveillance programs. The Australian government at the time described it as a damaging blow to national security.

The Snowden leaks indicated that Australia had tapped the phone calls of Indonesia's president and senior officials. The fallout from the leak caused huge diplomatic problems between Australia and Indonesia. 

Along with this, the new funding will seek to invest in new strategies, as malicious cyber activity affecting individuals and businesses in Australia increases in scale and reach. The report states cybercrime is estimated to cost Australians more than A$1 billion each year.

"The rate of compromise is increasing and the methods used by malicious actors are rapidly evolving," the government advised. This means the defence also needs to evolve. 

"The Australian Government has a duty to protect our nation from cyber attack and to ensure that we can defend our interests in cyberspace. We must safeguard against criminality, espionage, sabotage and unfair competition that exist online," it added. 

The funding announcement comes at the same time the Foreign Minister Julie Bishop finally admitted the Bureau of Meteorology in Australia was the target of a cyber attack, according to ABC News. She stopped short of confirming China was behind the attack, as was initially widely speculated. 

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