Reports last week that China's main security agency directed state-backed cyber hackers to target our think tank, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), should be of concern to all Australians.
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This revelation of a foreign government directing an attack on an Australian institution should be a wake-up call whether you like, dislike or don't know ASPI.
This is not espionage, a practice all nations do in spying against each other, nor a case of commercial or analytical competition, nor simply a government disagreeing with criticism.
This is a major authoritarian power trying to intimidate, and interfere in, Australia's capacity to have open enquiry and debate about the most important of issues-our national security. It is an attack on fundamental principles that underpin a healthy democracy.
As reported, "this is the first time a cyber offensive against Australia has been publicly attributed to written directives for intelligence activity sponsored by the Chinese government", though we know China has been responsible for the majority of state-sponsored cyber intrusions against Australia, from the Bureau of Meteorology to the Department of Parliamentary Services.
So why is the Chinese Communist Party targeting ASPI?
ASPI, while independent from government direction, is a Commonwealth company in which the federal government-and specifically the defence minister - is the sole shareholder. We are partly funded by the Defence Department.........