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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/oct/12/secret-files-on-jets-and-navy-ships-stolen-in-extensive-and-extreme-hack
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| Secret files on jets and navy ships stolen in 'extensive and extreme' hack | Secret files on jets and navy ships stolen in 'extensive and extreme' hack |
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| Secret information about new fighter jets, navy vessels and surveillance aircraft has been stolen from an Australian defence contractor. | |
| Dan Tehan, the minister in charge of cybersecurity, on Tuesday confirmed the hacking of an unnamed contractor but did not reveal specific details. | Dan Tehan, the minister in charge of cybersecurity, on Tuesday confirmed the hacking of an unnamed contractor but did not reveal specific details. |
| Australian Signals Directorate incident response manager Mitchell Clarke told a conference in Sydney on Wednesday the hackers targeted a small “mum and dad type business”, an aerospace engineering company with about 50 employees, in July last year. He said the firm was subcontracted four levels down from defence contracts. | Australian Signals Directorate incident response manager Mitchell Clarke told a conference in Sydney on Wednesday the hackers targeted a small “mum and dad type business”, an aerospace engineering company with about 50 employees, in July last year. He said the firm was subcontracted four levels down from defence contracts. |
| “The compromise was extensive and extreme,” Clarke told the Australian Information Security Association national conference in audio obtained by a freelance journalist called Stilgherrian. “It included information on the [F-35] joint strike fighter, C130 [Hercules aircraft], the P-8 Poseidon [surveillance aircraft], joint direct attack munition [JDAM smart bomb kits] and a few naval vessels.” | “The compromise was extensive and extreme,” Clarke told the Australian Information Security Association national conference in audio obtained by a freelance journalist called Stilgherrian. “It included information on the [F-35] joint strike fighter, C130 [Hercules aircraft], the P-8 Poseidon [surveillance aircraft], joint direct attack munition [JDAM smart bomb kits] and a few naval vessels.” |
| Clarke said the information hacked on the new navy ships included a diagram in which you could zoom in down to the captain’s chair and see that it was one metre away from the navigation chair. | Clarke said the information hacked on the new navy ships included a diagram in which you could zoom in down to the captain’s chair and see that it was one metre away from the navigation chair. |
| Clarke described the security breach as “sloppy admin”. He said the organisation only had one IT person. | Clarke described the security breach as “sloppy admin”. He said the organisation only had one IT person. |
| The Australian Signals Directorate dubbed the hacker “Alf”, after a character in TV soap opera Home and Away. | The Australian Signals Directorate dubbed the hacker “Alf”, after a character in TV soap opera Home and Away. |
| An Australian Cyber Security Centre spokesperson said the information released by the ASD staffer, who works for the centre, was commercially sensitive but unclassified. | An Australian Cyber Security Centre spokesperson said the information released by the ASD staffer, who works for the centre, was commercially sensitive but unclassified. |
| “While the Australian company is a national security linked contractor and the information disclosed was commercially sensitive, it was unclassified,” they said in a statement on Wednesday evening. “The government does not intend to discuss further the details of this cyber incident.” | “While the Australian company is a national security linked contractor and the information disclosed was commercially sensitive, it was unclassified,” they said in a statement on Wednesday evening. “The government does not intend to discuss further the details of this cyber incident.” |
| On Thursday Christopher Pyne, the defence industry minister, said the data was commercially sensitive not “classified” military information. | |
| “I don’t know who did it … it could be one of a number of different actors. It could be a state actor, a non-state actor,” he told ABC radio. |