Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison Says Cyberattack On Parliament Affected Major Political Parties

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday that the recent cyberattack on the country's parliament had affected some of the largest political parties and confirmed that the attack on the computer networks might have been perpetrated by a "sophisticated state actor

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th February, 2019) Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday that the recent cyberattack on the country's parliament had affected some of the largest political parties and confirmed that the attack on the computer networks might have been perpetrated by a "sophisticated state actor."

The malicious intrusion into the servers of the Australian legislature was reported in early February. The hackers have been caught in the early stages of their interference. Following the incident, the country's authorities reportedly started looking into China's possible involvement.

"During the course of this work, we also became aware that the networks of some political parties � Liberal, Labor and Nationals � have also been affected .

.. Our cyberexperts believe that a sophisticated state actor is responsible for this malicious activity," Morrison told lawmakers.

The prime minister assured the parliamentarians that no evidence of any electoral interference related to the attack had been found, as the cyberattack took place just a few months before the first round of the Australian parliamentary election.

The prime minister also noted that the government was implementing a number of measures to counter such attacks in the future. In particular, the Australian Cyber Security Center has been instructed to provide all necessary support to any party or electoral body if necessary.