Australian political hack should concern democracies worldwide

Ireland’s concentration of high-profile data centres makes us, too, a potential target for state actors, warns expert

Scott Morrison, Australian prime minister: the three main political parties in Australia were subjected to a cyber attack last week Picture: Getty

The hack of the main political parties in Australia has ramifications for democracies across the globe, with state actors suspected of being the primary culprits.

Last Monday, Australian prime minister Scott Morrison announced that the Labor, National and Liberal parties had been targeted by a “sophisticated state actor”. The use of the word sophisticated is redundant at this stage as every attack on governments or political parties tends to be described as such, ...