Australia condemns the cyber operations

Australia condemns the cyber operations attributed to Russia against the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and against Malaysian locations participating in the Flight MH-17 investigation as revealed by Dutch and UK authorities overnight.

 

Such actions by Russia, an OPCW Member State and a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council, undermine global integrity and trust in the arms control and verification framework, which plays a critical role in promoting and assuring the global prohibition against any use of chemical weapons.

 

Likewise, any actions intended to compromise or undermine the integrity of the Joint Investigation Team’s authorised and legitimate investigation into the destruction of Flight MH-17, which resulted in the death of all aboard the flight, are unacceptable.

 

These attributions raise questions about Russia’s credibility in wanting to genuinely resolve the issues surrounding what happened to Flight MH-17.

 

Australia joins other nations in calling on Russia to strongly affirm its commitment to acting as a reliable party to the investigation and subsequent resolution of the matter.

 

The events of the last 48 hours demonstrate the resolve of the international community – including Australia – to uphold the international rules-based order in the online world, just as we do elsewhere.