Australia's top spy accuses China of targeting its critical infrastructure

Mike Burgess says state-linked hackers have tried to access water, transport and energy networks.

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Mike Burgess, head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (Asio), said "unprecedented levels of espionage" meant a growing threat of "cyber-enabled sabotage" in the next five years.

He singled out "one nation state - no prizes for guessing which one - conducting multiple attempts to scan and penetrate critical infrastructure in Australia" and its allies, "targeting water, transport, telecommunications, and energy networks".

The Chinese embassy has been contacted for comment.

Authoritarian regimes were now more willing to "disrupt and destroy," Burgess warned.