Bidders on Australian Submarine Contract Hit by Russian and Chinese Hackers

November 9, 2015

Bidders in Australian submarine project hit by hackers

SYDNEY – All three bidders competing for a 50 billion Australian dollars ($35.3 billion) submarine contract have been targeted by Chinese and Russian cyberattacks, according to local media reports.

The submarine builders in France, Germany and Japan have all been provided with the highly confidential technical requirements for the Royal Australian Navy’s new submarines, which will form the basis for each country’s proposal.

Manfred Klein, campaign manager of German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, told The Australian newspaper, “We have about 30 to 40 (hacking) attempts per night, that’s what our IT people say.”

The bidders declined to publicly say which countries were the source of the espionage, but sources privately indicate that China and Russia are responsible.

“They’re trying to get into everyone’s communications,” John White, chairman of TKMS in Australia, stated to the newspaper. “Espionage and breaches of security … you just assume it is happening. Everybody is in that game. It’s a space that people play in. We don’t suspect anyone, we suspect everybody.”

The attacks have instead forced the competing bidders to rely on hand deliveries of sensitive information, though there is no evidence to suggest that any classified information has yet been compromised.

The bids for the submarine contract, which will also include a A$30 billion ($21 billion) maintenance deal, are due by Nov. 30, with the Australian government expected to select the winner in the first half of 2016.