Australia is 'at war' with hackers

Responding to the cyber attack on Prime Minister Julia Gillard's email system, information technology dean of research Dr Jill Slay said the nation had lost one battle with the hacking of these systems but must prepare for a longer conflict with hackers.
In May last year The Advertiser revealed Dr Slay had warned the Federal Government that politicians' use of social networking was compromising the security of government computer systems.
Dr Slay said Australian governments must understand that they are vulnerable to the world's most effective hackers.
"Think of what they have done to Google, the White House and governments in South-East Asia. A determined hacker, if they are determined to get in, they will get in there," she said.
"It is a war and we will win some and not win some, and it looks like in the current case we have lost that battle.
"All politicians need to be extremely careful, especially with social networking."
Hackers trawl social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook seeking people who have revealed too much personal information, with politicians a favourite target because their systems are also linked to Departmental systems with valuable public service information.
Dr Slay said UniSA was leading a bid with Edith Cowan University and the Queensland Institute of Technology for a Commonwealth Research Centre to better coordinate research against hacking.
Of most concern to hacker-fighters such as Dr Slay and UniSA senior lecturer in information technology, Dr Raymond Choo, is the explosion of new technology and its vulnerability, which has created what Dr Choo calls "low hanging fruit" for even inexperienced criminals.
Apple's i-devices were last year the subject of hacking via a security hole in software that allowed hackers to gain access to data by putting a file with hidden code on to a website to attract visitors. At least one South Australian Cabinet minister has converted his entire paperwork associated with the cabinet process to his iPad...

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Miles Kemp @'Adelaide Now'