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ASIO Says Chinese-Linked Hackers Are Probing Australia’s Critical Infrastructure, Warns of ‘High-Impact Sabotage’

ASIO’s chief told a Melbourne forum the activity reflects sophisticated reconnaissance across telecoms, energy, water, transport networks seen in Five Eyes countries.

Overview

  • Mike Burgess publicly named Salt Typhoon and Volt Typhoon as groups he said work for the Chinese government and its military.
  • He said Salt Typhoon penetrated US telecommunications systems to conduct espionage and access communications.
  • He said Volt Typhoon compromised American critical infrastructure to pre-position for potential sabotage, giving China the ability to disable telecommunications and other services.
  • Burgess reported similar probes against Australian networks designed to map systems and maintain persistent, undetected access.
  • He declared Australia has reached the threshold for high-impact sabotage but did not identify specific Chinese units targeting Australian assets or confirm successful access.