Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Australia's parliament was the subject of an attempted hack

Australia's main political parties and parliament were hit by a "malicious intrusion" on their computer networks, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

The cyber-attack revealed two weeks ago was carried out by a "sophisticated state actor", he said.

But he added there was "no evidence of any electoral interference". The nation will hold an election within months.

The attack being investigated was at first thought to involve only the parliament's servers.

"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," Mr Morrison told the House of Representatives on Monday.

Who might have been behind it?

The Australian prime minister did not say which foreign state was under suspicion, adding he would not provide additional detail on "operational matters".

The Australian government has faced a number of cyber-attacks in recent years, some of which have been attributed in local media to nations such as China.

Fergus Hanson, cyber security expert at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, put China "at the top" of the list of suspects but said he "wouldn't rule out" Russia also being responsible.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the accusations were "groundless" and "made up out of thin air with ulterior motives".

He urged media organisations to "stop the words and actions" that can harm "China's bilateral relations with relevant countries".

How extensive was the hack?

The Australian Cyber Security Centre said that although party systems had been compromised, it was not yet known if information had been stolen.

Mr Morrison, who leads the Liberal-National coalition, said: "We have put in place a number of measures to ensure the integrity of our electoral system."

He added that security officials had briefed the nation's electoral bodies and would provide support to all political parties.

Labor leader Bill Shorten said the cyber-attack was "of grave concern" following instances of "malicious activity" in other nations.

"We cannot be complacent and, as this most recent activity reported by the prime minister indicates, we are not exempt or immune," he said.

In 2015 and 2016, there were high-profile attacks on the government's weather and statistics agencies. In 2011, senior Australian ministers also had their email systems breached.

After the attack on the parliament's computer network, officials said there was "no evidence" that information had been accessed or stolen.

However, politicians' passwords had been reset as a precaution.</s>SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia on Monday (Feb 18) said a mass hack that breached parliament systems also hit the country's main political parties and was carried out by a "sophisticated state actor".

Prime Minister Scott Morrison told lawmakers that while investigating the previously announced parliament hack "we also became aware that the networks of some political parties, Liberal, Labor and Nationals have also been affected".

"Our cyber experts believe that a sophisticated state actor is responsible for this malicious activity," he said.</s>A “sophisticated state actor” was behind a cyberattack on the Australian parliament’s computing network, the country’s prime minister has said.

Scott Morrison did not identify the state behind what he described as a “malicious intrusion”, that also affected the network of major political parties, on February 8th.

A joint statement from House of Representatives speaker Tony Smith and Senate president Scott Ryan said at the time there was no evidence that data had been accessed in the breach, but lawmakers were advised to change passwords.

Mr Morrison revealed on Monday that the computer networks of the government parties — the Liberal Party and the Nationals — as well as the opposition Labour Party had also been affected.

Australia’s security agencies were securing those systems and protecting users, he said.

Our cyber experts believe that a sophisticated state actor is responsible for this malicious activity

“Our cyber experts believe that a sophisticated state actor is responsible for this malicious activity,” Mr Morrison told reporters.

“Let me be clear, though — there is no evidence of any electoral interference. We have put in place a number of measures to ensure the integrity of our electoral system,” he added.

The Australian Cyber Security Centre, the government’s main cyber security agency, had briefed federal and state election authorities, Mr Morrison said.

New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, will hold elections on March 23rd. A federal election will be held on a date to be set in May.

Although Australian officials have not blamed any country, in 2011 it was reported that China was suspected of accessing the email system used by lawmakers and parliamentary staff.

Election interference has been high on the international agenda ever since America’s 2016 presidential vote.

Russian hackers stole and published more than 150,000 emails from various Democratic targets in what US spymasters and senior lawmakers described as a wide-ranging effort to help elect Donald Trump. – AP</s>Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the country's major political parties have been hit by a hack on their computer networks.

The activity was carried out by a "sophisticated state actor", Mr Morrison said.

It was discovered following an investigation into a hacking attempt on Australia's parliament two weeks ago.

There was "no evidence of any electoral interference", he said. The nation is due to hold an election within months.

"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," Mr Morrison told the parliament on Monday.

Two weeks ago, Mr Morrison said there was "no suggestion" that government agencies or departments had been targeted.

There was also no evidence that information from the parliament's computer network had been accessed or stolen, he said. Politicians' passwords had been reset as a precaution.

On Monday, Mr Morrison said: "We have put in place a number of measures to ensure the integrity of our electoral system."

Labor leader Bill Shorten said the cyber-attack was "of grave concern" following instances of "malicious activity" in other nations.

"We cannot be complacent and, as this most recent activity reported by the prime minister indicates, we are not exempt or immune," Mr Shorten said.

The Australian government has faced a number of cyber-attacks in recent years, some of which have been attributed in local media to nations such as China.

In 2015 and 2016, there were high-profile attacks on the government's weather and statistics agencies. In 2011, senior Australian ministers also had their email systems breached.</s>Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has revealed the IT networks of the country's major political parties have been compromised by a "sophisticated state actor."

Morrison made the revelation in a statement about hackers gaining access to the Federal Parliament's computer network two weeks ago.

Morrison today said that while investigating that breach, authorities became aware of the additional breach of the Liberal party, Labor and Nationals' networks, which were also affected by the "malicious intrusion".

"Our security agencies have detected this activity and acted decisively to confront it. They are securing these systems and protecting users," Morrison told Parliament.

"Our cyber experts believe that a sophisticated state actor is responsible for this malicious activity."

The prime minister downplayed suggestions of electoral interference, saying there was no evidence of such and that the government had put in place a number of measures to ensure "the integrity of our electoral system."

"I have 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.

"They have already briefed the Electoral Commissions and those responsible for cyber security for all states and territories. They have also worked with global anti-virus companies to ensure Australia's friends and allies have the capacity to detect this malicious activity.

"We have acted decisively to protect our national interests.

"The methods used by malicious actors are constantly evolving and this incident reinforces yet again the importance of cyber security as a fundamental part of everyone's business.

"The Australian Government will continue to take a proactive and coordinated approach to protecting Australia's sovereignty, our economy and our national security."

He added: "Our political system and our democracy remains strong, vibrant and is protected.

"We stand united in the protection of our values and our sovereignty.

"The Government has chosen to be transparent about these matters. This in itself is an expression of faith by our Government in our democratic system and our determination to defend it."

The cyber attack comes just months out from a federal election, expected in mid-May.

Concerns of political interference has been at the front of authorities minds after Russia was found to behind the hacking and release of internal emails within the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's campaign chair during the 2016 US election.

The latest breach also intensifies speculation that China is somehow involved, having been responsible for previous hacks on Australian government systems, including a similar breach of the Federal Parliament's computer network in 2011.</s>Parliament House in Canberra. Australian spy chiefs suggested that China was the main suspect behind the sophisticated and unprecedented attack DAVID GRAY/REUTERS

The computer networks of Australia’s main political parties were the target of a cyberattack by a foreign power before May’s general election, the country’s prime minister said today.

Scott Morrison told MPs that a “sophisticated state actor” was behind the hack. Senior intelligence sources told the Sydney Morning Herald that it bore the “digital fingerprints” of action by the Chinese state and the level of sophistication was “unprecedented”.

The attack was first uncovered ten days ago on the computer networks of Australia’s national parliament but Mr Morrison said that investigators had since discovered it had a wider scope. Political parties including the governing Liberal and National parties and the opposition Labor Party were also targeted.

“Our cyberexperts believe that a sophisticated state actor is responsible…</s>Australia on Monday said a “sophisticated state actor” had hacked the country’s main political parties and parliament, just weeks before a closely fought election. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said security agencies looking at a hack of parliament computer systems revealed two weeks ago “also became aware that the networks of some political parties” had been breached. “Our cyber experts believe that a sophisticated state actor is responsible for this malicious activity,” he said. Security agencies said they did not know who was behind the attack or their motives, AFP reports. It is not clear what, if any, material was stolen during the hacks. Earlier this month, Australia reported a “security incident on the parliamentary computing network.”</s>Australia on Monday said a "sophisticated state actor" had hacked the country's main political parties and parliament, just weeks before a closely fought election.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison told lawmakers security agencies looking at a hack of lawmakers "also became aware that the networks of some political parties; Liberal, Labor and Nationals have also been affected".

"Our cyber experts believe that a sophisticated state actor is responsible for this malicious activity," he said, without mentioning any specific country.

"Our security agencies have detected this activity and acted decisively to confront it. They are securing these systems and protecting users," he said.

Earlier this month authorities reported a "security incident on the parliamentary computing network" forcing users -- including the prime minister and the cabinet -- to change passwords and take other security measures.

The Australian Signals Directorate confirmed it was working with the parliament in response to the attack, giving a strong indication that sophisticated actors were suspected from the start.

Speculation has focused on China, although there is no official finger pointing at Beijing and cyber experts frequently warn that attribution is time consuming and difficult.

Australians are expected to go to the polls in mid-May, raising the spectre that hackers could be trying to influence the outcome of the vote, or change the tenor of the debate.

Morrison said "there, is no evidence of any electoral interference".

"We have put in place a number of measures to ensure the integrity of our electoral system."

He added that the Australian Cyber Security Centre stood ready to help any party or electoral body in need of support.

"They have already briefed the Electoral Commissions and those responsible for cyber security for all states and territories."</s>Prime Minister Scott Morrison Monday said a “sophisticated state actor” was behind a cyber attack on the Australian Parliament’s computing network earlier this month and the “malicious intrusion” also hit the networks of some political parties.

Morrison’s comments follow an investigation into the hacking attempt, which was first thought to involve only the Parliament’s servers. ”During the course of this work, we also became aware that the networks of some political parties – Liberal, Labor and the Nationals – have also been affected,” he said.

Morrison said that there was “no evidence of any electoral interference”. Australia is expected to hold elections in mid-May, raising concerns that hackers could be trying to influence the outcome of the vote. ‘Our security agencies have detected this activity and acted decisively to confront it. They are securing these systems and protecting users,” he told Parliamentarians.

He said the cyber experts believed that a sophisticated state actor was responsible for the “malicious activity”. Morrison , however, did not name any country. The parliament hack on February 8 had forced MPs and staff members to reset their computer passwords as a precaution. At the time, the Australian Signals Directorate had confirmed it was working with parliament in response to the breach, a move that indicated possible involvement of sophisticated actors.

“The Australian Government will continue to take a proactive and coordinated approach to protecting Australia’s sovereignty, our economy and our national security,” Morrison said. ”Our political system and our democracy remains strong, vibrant and is protected. We stand united in the protection of our values and our sovereignty,” he said.

Australia’s chief cyber security adviser Alistair MacGibbon said it was too early to tell what information the hackers had accessed. “We know that this state actor has been interacting with those networks,” he said. “These are very early days and a decision was made, I believe rightly in terms of risk management, to go public with this issue before we knew the full extent.”

Politicians and their staff lost access to their emails as security agencies reset passwords when the breach was detected. Ministers and their offices were not affected in the suspected hack because they operate on different computer servers. MacGibbon said while the hacker’s identity remained unknown, the list of suspects was small.

“The sophistication of their methodology to operate in those systems gives us the confidence to say it is a state actor,” he said. “There are a limited number of countries but we have low confidence at being able to publicly state who we think it is.”

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said Labor and the Coalition had a “joint obligation” to protect Australia’s democracy and national security. In the wake of the breach, cyber security experts warned an attack on a foreign parliament would be the “crown jewels” for state-sanctioned hackers.

The Australian government has faced a number of cyber-attacks in recent years, some of which have been attributed in local media to nations such as China. In 2015 and 2016, there were high-profile attacks on the government’s weather and statistics agencies. In 2011, senior Australian ministers also had their email systems breached.</s>Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday that a recent hack on political parties had likely been carried out by a foreign nation. The announcement followed a swift investigation by Australian security authorities.

"Our cyber experts believe that a sophisticated state actor is responsible for this malicious activity," Morrison told parliament.

The hacking was initially reported on February 8 and targeted the computer network of Australia's parliament, which is used by lawmakers and their staff. Those affected were prompted to change their passwords and take additional security measures.

"Our security agencies have detected this activity and acted decisively to confront it. They are securing these systems and protecting users," Morrison added.

The Australian Signals Directorate, which worked with the parliament in investigating the attack, had previously given strong indications that it suspected state actors from the very beginning.

Prime Minister Morrison did not provide details on what information was stolen in the hack, but reassured the public that no evidence existed of election interference.

"We also became aware that the networks of some political parties, Liberal, Labor and Nationals have also been affected," Morrison said.

Labor party leader Bill Shorten said the attack was of "grave concern" and warned the public of becoming complacent.

The cyberattack comes shortly before Australians are expected to go to the polls in May to vote in the next general election.

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Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announces the country's major political parties computer networks had been hacked by a "sophisticated state actor."