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Australia's Major Political Parties Targeted by 'Sophisticated State Actor', Prime Minister Says (theguardian.com)
Australia's major political parties have been targeted by a "sophisticated state actor", according to Scott Morrison (Prime Minister of Australia), as part of a breach of the Parliament House computer network. From a report: The head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre, Alastair MacGibbon, says agencies were unsure what material had been taken in the incident because the rapid remediation efforts had removed some of the forensic evidence. The prime minister confirmed the state-sponsored intrusion in a statement to parliament on Monday, but said there was no evidence of electoral interference and measures had been put in place to "ensure the integrity of our electoral system."
Morrison said he had instructed the Australian Cyber Security Centre "to be ready to provide any political party or electoral body in Australia with immediate support, including making their technical experts available." He said the federal and state electoral commissions and cybersecurity agencies in the states had been briefed and the cybersecurity centre in Canberra had also worked with global anti-virus companies "so the world can detect this malicious activity."
Morrison said he had instructed the Australian Cyber Security Centre "to be ready to provide any political party or electoral body in Australia with immediate support, including making their technical experts available." He said the federal and state electoral commissions and cybersecurity agencies in the states had been briefed and the cybersecurity centre in Canberra had also worked with global anti-virus companies "so the world can detect this malicious activity."
My vote: China
I only wish Slashdot's dupe detection mechanism was as sophisticated as a foreign state actor.
Unless the "news" here is the word could has been replaced by the word was. https://it.slashdot.org/story/...
Why do we keep inventing new words? Acts of foreign government are either "espionage" or "sabotage".
And it has been the extension of diplomacy for a long long time. Like in "war is extension of diplomacy".
Espionage is normal. Sabotage is less normal and more hostile, but it's much less than an act of war....
I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
Russia seems to have contributed to the misinformation over Brexit which, regardless of what happens next, certainly seems destined to destabilise the UK and possibly the EU for years to come. They may also have been a decisive factor in Trump's election as US president, though their contribution is difficult to separate from other factors. It is not surprising that state actors see similar attempts as an interesting way of trying to achieve their foreign policy goals.
This is the same government that recently banned secure encryption in Australia (by mandating backdoors in all secure systems). The fact that said government just got hacked is simply delicious irony.
'Australia's major political parties have been targeted by a "sophisticated state actor"...'
OMG it's Putin! He's weaponized truth!!
I am sure that there are many other solipsists out there.
Which is the most "sophisticated state actor" you can think of, when it comes to electronic espionage and malware?
I am sure that there are many other solipsists out there.
Australia's Major Political Parties Targeted by 'Sophisticated State Actor'
Well, that rules out the Australian government itself.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Egads, I've never seen AI flatulence before. This is a first!
---- Teach Peace. It's Cheaper Than War.
especially disinformation.
Putin is not a friend of the free press. If he releases information it's solely to benefit himself at the expense of his enemies. This means the information he has released is likely to be incomplete. It will be missing anything that shows his administration in a negative light.
Go watch John Oliver's latest Brexit Video. It's terrifying how many people were just casually manipulated by the propaganda and are now realizing how screwed they'll be. The guy selling flowers who's business will cease to be if Brexit happens sticks out.
This isn't to say you oppose or hide from the truth. But it means you have to be very, very careful with your sources of information, even if that information is, ostensibly, true. Like Homer Simpson said: "You can use facts to prove anything that is even remotely true". The word that makes that line more than a joke is "remotely". It's called stretching the truth.
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Sophisticated, or sophisticated compared to Australia?
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
We (Australia) have an election coming up in the next couple of months where the current outlook is that the Liberal government (who are our conservative party) are going to get annihilated. I find the timing of this VERY interesting.
Once again, the finger is being pointed at China, despite the hack being untraceable and the perpetrator(s) unknown. My own suspicion is that it's another US hack, as they have by far the worst track record for this, with literally thousands of their hacks and bugs detected each year. And that's just in Australia, who is supposed to be an ally.
The US doesn't have to hack us, we're part of the Five Eyes group and we tell them everything they want to know.
John McAfee is that you again?
It's generally agreed that whilst the Five Eyes share a vast amount of information, they also quietly spy on each other as well - with a bit of a gentleman's agreement not to talk about it. At least everyone then knows it's going on.
Looks like they are looking for an excuse to use their new powers passed as the last parliamentary business for 2018.
My ism, it's full of beliefs.