Labor is deeply concerned that Australia has been the target of commercial intellectual property theft, including by a group known as APT10, acting on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of State Security.
Labor supports the Government making clear to any nation engaging in this behaviour that such actions are unacceptable, and also make clear Australia expects that all countries act in accordance with international laws and norms. This is equally applicable in the cyber environment as anywhere else.
All countries including China must uphold commitments agreed by G20 Leaders in 2015, and reaffirmed between Australia and China in 2017, to refrain from cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property, trade secrets and confidential business information.
The worldwide cyber security breach is a stark reminder that such incidents are on the rise globally and present major challenges for both governments and the private sector.
It is important all businesses put in place appropriate cyber security measures to protect sensitive information and computer systems from harm, and equally vital that the government is providing them with advice on threats and what countermeasures they should be taking.
We urge all organisations to remain vigilant about security, and act on advice from the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) at www.cyber.gov.au on concrete steps they can take to protect their information.
Authorised by Noah Carroll, ALP, Canberra.