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The Australian government has already started issuing notices to the

Dec. 3, 2018 by Lena Webb

The Australian government has already started issuing notices to the national political parties to "look into the attack, and the cyber threat has been identified," Morrison said.

Meanwhile, Australia's new president, Kevin Rudd, has issued an emergency order requiring all Australian citizens to submit fingerprints to the Australian Police immediately. In response, a report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation has revealed that at least two individuals were involved in the latest attack—including one who allegedly "was associated with Chinese hackers—and that the Chinese government has confirmed to this effect."

While the reports are highly speculative, both these reports were confirmed by media reports and other sources.

"If you look closely at what's actually been happening in the country, the first point I wanted to make is that the Chinese government has confirmed that there is a massive and sophisticated cyber-attack on Australian election systems," said Robert Stelter, the head of security at the National Security Council. "I think we're seeing a lot of things that are probably not real. I really don't know if this is related to the threat that's been brewing here. But I think it does appear to be something that's happening in the country."

The latest Australian cybersecurity alerts come amid heightened concerns from Australian security officials that China is trying to influence elections on the basis of personal political ideology. A report on the cyber attack has been leaked and described as a "routinely orchestrated attack" in the United Kingdom that the government is likely to use as part of an effort to sway public opinion in Australia.

The recent revelations may also come as the United States steps up its efforts to target individuals who might have compromised the American election system. The National Security Agency (NSA) reportedly has been accused by some in both the United States and China of spying on Americans and is working to monitor and target Americans who have information about citizens in the United States, including those whose lives have been affected by the spying.

One of several reports published by the New York Times this week indicated that the National Security Agency was also using personal information of American citizens to "target" potential political opponents.

But the report also revealed that intelligence agencies in Washington, DC, have now been working hard to identify and track individuals linked to the cyber-attacks.

"It's been a long process," said Chris Vladeck, head of cyber-security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. "But some of the work that's been done has been really successful