China Blamed For BoM Hack
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China is being blamed for a major cyber attack on the computers at the Bureau of Meteorology, which has compromised sensitive systems across the Federal Government, according to an ABC report.

Multiple official sources are said to have confirmed the recent attack and say it will cost millions of dollars to plug the security breach, as other agencies have also been affected.

The bureau owns one of Australia’s largest supercomputers and provides critical information to a host of agencies. Its systems straddle the nation, including a link into the Department of Defence, the ABC notes.

Reasons for the hack attack are not obvious – weather forecasts being free public knowledge – but ABC sources say the bureau is a critical national resource and another state could place a high value on its intellectual property and scientific research.

In the event of a conflict, compromising Australia’s ability to accurately forecast weather would affect the operation of military and commercial aircraft