Tag: Prime Minister of Australia

Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said the country's major political parties were hacked earlier this month alongside the federal parliament by a "sophisticated state actor". The announcement on Monday came 10 days after the launch of a probe into the cybersecurity breach of the parliament's computer network. "Our cyber experts believe that a sophisticated state actor is responsible for this malicious activity," he said. At the time, the Australian Signals Directorate had confirmed it was working with parliament in response to the breach, a move that indicated the possible involvement of sophisticated actors. May polls Australia is expected to hold elections in mid-May, raising concerns that hackers could be trying to influence the outcome of the vote or change the tenor of the debate. Along with Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the United States, Australia is part of the Five Eyes intelligence network, which gives it access to a host of signals and human intelligence to back up any suspicions of state hacking. "Our political institutions represent high-value targets. But we have resilient systems in place to detect compromises and remediate them," said Alastair MacGibbon, head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre. He said it was unclear whether the attackers gained access to sensitive data or emails. "We genuinely do not know."

Image SYDNEY, Australia — At a regular Sunday morning service, before the praise songs and a sermon on resilience, a pastor at one of Sydney’s largest Pentecostal churches mentioned a congregant who was usually among those worshiping there. But he was not with them this past Sunday. On Friday, he became Australia’s newest prime minister. “I’m incredibly hopeful — hopeful for the future of our generation,” said Alison Bonhomme, a senior pastor at Horizon Church, reflecting on the political tumult that led Scott Morrison to become the country’s leader. He is the first prime minister to come from one of the country’s growing evangelical Christian movements, leading many experts and voters to wonder how his Christianity might affect various issues, from foreign policy to social policy. “The question is whether Morrison will choose to make his faith part of his political persona or to what extent he will,” said Hugh White, a professor of strategic studies at the Australian National University. Sign up for your local Morning Briefing to get the news you need, Monday through Friday.] For a decade, Mr. Morrison and his family have been part of the congregation at Horizon Church in a middle-class southern suburb of Sydney, where his wife volunteers and his daughters are involved in the children’s ministry. “I think that people of faith around the nation are very much filled with hope that someone of Christian faith and principle is holding such a role in public life,” said Kristy Mills, the executive pastor. Mr. Morrison is the latest politician to become prime minister after a messy leadership “spill,” in which a leader was ousted by party rivals — in this case, Malcolm Turnbull, a moderate pushed out by conservatives.