Australian Parliament's computer network targeted by hacker

Image courtesy: Reuters

Canberra: Australia`s parliament had to reset all the passwords on its computer network after an unknown attacker tried to hack into the system, an official statement said on Friday. In the statement, the legislature`s presiding officers said "a number of measures" had been taken to protect the network following a "security incident on the parliamentary computing network", reports CNN.

"There is no evidence that any data has been accessed or taken at this time, however this will remain subject to ongoing investigation," it said. The officers said they had no evidence as yet that the hack was an attempt to influence or disrupt parliament.

The incident comes just a month after German politicians were hit by a massive data leak including credit card details, phone numbers and email addresses. Opposition Labor Party leader Bill Shorten said on Friday the attack should be a "wake up call".

"The internet`s fantastic, but there are people out there in the cyber world who want to do Australians, and Australian business, and Australian security, harm," he told the media. Local media said a foreign government could be behind the hack, but the parliamentary statement said only that "relevant agencies" were investigating it.