Australia’s cyber spy chief slams corporates contemplating “hacking back”

The chief of the Australian Signals Directorate, Mike Burgess, has issued a blunt warning to Australia’s business community and their boards that mounting private offensive hacking attacks in the name of cyber or corporate security won’t be tolerated by the signals agency.

In a landmark speech the Australia Strategic Policy Institute in Canberra on Monday night, the cyber tzar put a rare broadside into the business community for contemplating private offensive capabilities, revealing deep concerns within the government over some corporate behaviour.

“Worryingly I've heard of board rooms in Australia contemplating the prospect of hacking back to defend themselves against potential attacks,” Burgess told a room full of policy and security officials in Canberra. “That should not be part of any organisation's cyber security strategy; that would be an illegal act here in Australia,” Burgess said.