“You’re only as strong as your weakest link.” For the Australian government, this phrase is extremely relevant today. The Australian Cyber Security Center confirmed yesterday that a 2015 attack on servers at Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology was initiated by a foreign intelligence service. You may be thinking, “What could hackers want with weather data?” The answer is nothing. By hacking into the weakest part of the Australian government’s network, the hackers were able to work their way throughout the system by breaching the poorly protected meteorology division.

Various reports have stated that China is behind the attacks but the Australian government states that it will not be naming a source. The Australian Cyber Security Center (ACSC) noted that the security controls in place “were insufficient to protect the network from more common threats associated with cybercrime.” They also estimate that every password on the Meteorology Bureau’s network was already compromised by the time that the investigation into the matter began.

Technology has allowed governments around the world to better store data and control their resources; unfortunately, as an entity’s cyber footprint increases, so does the type and number of potential risks that threaten them. It is vital that modern-day governments around the world put in place the countermeasures to protect their systems and data.