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Chinese cyberattack almost shut off power to THREE MILLION Australians
From: Terrell Byrd <terrell.byrd () riskbasedsecurity com>
Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2021 10:27:43 -0500
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/chinese-cyberattack-almost-shut-off-power-to-three-million-australians/ar-AARz9G6 Chinese hackers came within minutes of shutting off power to three million Australian homes but were thwarted at the final hurdle. The Communist regime launched a 'sustained' ransomware attack on CS Energy's two thermal coal plants in Queensland on November 27 - showing what Beijing could be capable of in a wartime scenario. There were panic stations within the energy firm as employees began to lose access to their emails and other critical internal data. CS Energy quickly realised the cyber attackers were trying to bypass their internal corporate systems to access the generators that circulate 3,500MW of electricity into the grid. A successful attack would knock out power to between 1.4 and 3 million homes with no way of knowing how long it might take to regain control of the generators. IT specialists came up with a brilliant last-minute move to stop Beijing from gaining access, by separating the company's corporate and operational computer systems. Once the network was essentially cut in half, hackers had no way of seizing control of the generators. Sources with knowledge of the hack attempt said the cyber-attackers were less than 30 minutes away from shutting down power. Intelligence and Security Committee chairman Senator James Paterson warned urgent reforms were needed to beef up Australia cyber defence capabilities as nations like China and Russia become increasingly hostile. 'Our cyber vulnerabilities are increasing in complexity for two reasons: firstly, the increasingly interconnected digital nature of our lives,' he told the Daily Telegraph. 'And secondly, because of the evolving security environment in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly China's willingness to use every domain available to achieve its geostrategic objectives, including the cyber realm.' Scott Morrison last year revealed a malicious 'state-actor' launched a sophisticated and sustained cyber campaign to infiltrate Australian banks, transport networks, hospitals, universities, critical infrastructure and the military. Security experts pointed the finger squarely at Beijing, with former officials claiming the cyber invasion was payback for Australia's decision to ban Huawei from the national 5G network. The Chinese telecommunications giant is the world's largest 5G infrastructure builder but Canberra banned its involvement in Australia's critical infrastructure rollout in August 2018, citing national security concerns. Since then, Canberra's relationship with Beijing has deteriorated even further with the totalitarian state still furious over the government's calls for an independent inquiry into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic. Xi Jinping responded with billions of dollars worth of arbitrary bans and tariffs on a range of Australia's exports. But Australia is not alone when it comes to cyber attacks from Beijing. Microsoft on Monday announced it 'disrupted the activities of a China-based hacking group that we call Nickel' which carried out attacks in the US and 28 other countries. 'We believe these attacks were largely being used for intelligence gathering from government agencies, think tanks and human rights organizations,' the software giant said. Last month the China targeted Indian utilities and infrastructure sites with cyber-attacks also trying to shut down a coal-fired power plant. Taiwanese officials said their small democratic nation just 180km off the coast of China receives up to 'five million attacks a day' with the vast majority likely to be directed by Beijing.
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- Chinese cyberattack almost shut off power to THREE MILLION Australians Terrell Byrd (Dec 09)