Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's parliamentary computer and the foreign and defence ministers' machines are all suspected of being hacked, with China under suspicion, reports said Tuesday. Sydney's Daily Telegraph said American intelligence officials tipped off the government that several thousand emails may have been accessed from the computers of at least 10 ministers.
As well as Gillard, they reportedly included Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and Defence Minister Stephen Smith. The paper said the espionage occurred over more than a month, beginning in February. "Four separate government sources confirmed that they had been told Chinese intelligence agencies were among a list of foreign hackers that are under suspicion," it said. One of the sources said the revelations were "deeply concerning".