Chinese hackers 'steal' blueprints to new Australian spy HQ It cited security experts as saying the theft exposed the agency to being spied on and may be responsible for a cost-blowout and delays to the opening of the building, which was supposed to be operational last month. Des Ball, from the Australian National University's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, said the blueprints would show which rooms were likely to used for sensitive conversations, and how to put devices into the walls. "Once you get those building plans you can start constructing your own wiring diagrams, where the linkages are through telephone connections, through wi-fi connections," he was quoted as saying. The report, which did not say when the alleged theft took place, comes amid deepening concern about aggressive state-sponsored hacking by China. In 2011, the computers of Australia's prime minister, foreign minister and defence minister were all suspected of being hacked, with the attacks reportedly originating in China. Beijing dismissed the allegations as "groundless and made out of ulterior purposes." At the time, Canberra said cyber attacks had become so frequent that government and private networks were under "continuous threat." Earlier this year, computer networks at the Reserve Bank of Australia were hacked, with some reportedly infected by Chinese-developed malware searching for sensitive information.