Australia is recruiting 500 additional cyber spies and making its largest investment in digital security after a breakdown in diplomatic relations with Beijing and mutual allegations of espionage activity, reported the Financial Times.
The A$1.35 billion ($930 million) investment over a decade follows a warning from Scott Morrison, Australia’s prime minister, that the nation’s government, businesses and educational institutions have been under sustained attack from a sophisticated state actor.
Announcing the new investment on Tuesday, Morrison said malicious cyber activity against Australia was increasing in “frequency, scale and sophistication” and risked undermining the nation’s economy, security and sovereignty.
The onslaught came as Canberra’s relationship with Beijing fell to its lowest level in a generation following Australia’s call for an inquiry into the origins of the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan.
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