A "sophisticated state-based cyber actor" is targeting Australian organisations across a range of sectors, "including all levels of government, industry, political organisation, education, health, essential service providers and operators of other critical infrastructure", Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced in a press conference on June 19. Both government agencies and private sector were targeted. The scale and nature of the targeting and "tradecraft" used, prove that a "state-based cyber actor" is at work, he said. While such attacks are not new, their frequency, scale, sophistication and impact have been increasing, Morrison and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds said. Thus far, investigations have not revealed any "large-scale" personal data breaches, Morrison said. News.com.au first reported this. Morrison had also spoken to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson about this attack on June 18. UK and Australia are both part of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance that also includes the USA, Canada and New Zealand. Australia will conduct further technical briefings with states and territories throughout June 19. The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), the country's nodal agency on cyber matters, has released a technical advisory as well as per which the attackers did not "carry out any disruptive or destructive activities within victim environments". Who did it? Morrison did not attribute the attack to any particular nation since "the threshold for public attribution on a technical level is extremely high". If the attack is ever publicly attributed, it will be done in the country's "strategic national interest". Despite that, he made it clear…
