A cyber-attack has disrupted live broadcasts on Australia’s Channel Nine TV network, prompting concerns about the country’s vulnerability to hackers.
The broadcaster said it was unable to air several shows on Sunday, including Weekend Today.
Nine said it was investigating whether the hack was “criminal sabotage or the work of a foreign nation”.
Australia’s parliament was also investigating a possible cyber-attack in Canberra on Sunday.
Assistant Defence Minister Andrew Hastie said access to IT and emails at Parliament House had been cut as a precaution. He said this was done in response to issue affecting an “external provider”, without elaborating.
“This is a timely reminder that Australians cannot be complacent about their cyber-security,” said the minister on Sunday.
“The government acted quickly, and we have the best minds in the world working to ensure Australia remains the most secure place to operate online,” he said.
It is not clear if the parliamentary outage and the cyber attack on Channel Nine were connected. The station’s presenters tweeted about their on-air issues.
Channel Nine, which also owns The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers, said its publishing and radio divisions were largely unaffected.
But its TV section was. At first, Nine said it was “responding to technical issues” affecting its live broadcasting.
Its online news site, 9news.com,au, was also affected.
