China hits back at Australia's spy chief over cyber espionage warning

Thursday, 13 November 2025 13:57

"It's hoped that the Australian official can stop making irresponsible statements."

China's foreign ministry has rebuffed claims it has hackers working to disrupt Australia's critical infrastructure.

It comes after comments from Australia's top spy chief Mike Burgess, who yesterday identified two hacking groups which he said were capable of tapping into Australia's critical communications network and having a "disruptive [and] destructive" impact on the country.

He did not explicitly name the Chinese government, but said "one nation state — no prizes for guessing which one — [is] conducting multiple attempts to scan and penetrate critical infrastructure in Australia and other Five Eyes countries."

AFR MELB ASIC SMMIT KEYNOTE Mike Burgess AM, Director-General of Security, ASIO Wednesday 12th November 2025 Melbourne Photo by Eamon Gallagher

However, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry strongly denied Burgess' claims, asking for a full retraction and saying this was not the first time Burgess had attacked China.

"In recent months, the Australian official you mentioned has repeatedly hurled attacks at China, spread disinformation and deliberately sowed division and confrontation," Guo Jiakun told a journalist at a press conference in Beijing today.

"It's hoped that the Australian official can stop making irresponsible statements."

The two groups Burgess was referring to are called Volt Typhoon and Salt Typhoon, and Asio's Director-General said espionage breaches cause a $12.5 billion hit to the economy per year.

Guo Jiakun, spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, protested against ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess over claims China is conducting espionage in Australia.

"These groups are hackers working for Chinese government intelligence and their military," he said at an ASIC conference in Melbourne on Wednesday.

"Both groups were involved in the theft of sensitive information, but the real danger was the threat of sabotage - disruption to critical infrastructure."

Jiakun said China had lodged a protest with Australia, and hinted future outbursts of this nature could hinder the relationship between the two countries, which have been at loggerheads over trade and defence.

"China firmly opposes it and has protested with Australia," he said.

"[Burgess should] do more things conducive to the healthy development of China-Australia relations."

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