China suspected in Australian government hacking: report

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- China's spy agency is considered among the list of suspects in a cyber-espionage attack on computers belonging to the Australian government, exposing thousands of emails belonging to Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and at least nine federal ministers, according to Australian press reports.

The cyber-espionage began in February and lasted about a month before U.S. intelligence agencies tipped off their Australian counterparts, according to the Sydney's Daily Telegraph on Tuesday.

The report said the Chinese intelligence agency was among the list of foreign suspects, citing four separate government sources which it did not identify.

The report did not say what other entities were suspects.

Australia's security agency is taking steps to improve security of the computer network used by ministers, according to reports Wednesday.

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