China not to blame for cyber attacks on parliament: Beijing

China has rejected suggestions that its agencies were behind a cyber attack on federal parliament.

China has rejected suggestions its agencies were behind a cyber attack on federal parliament.

A spokeswoman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hua Chunying, said reports that the Chinese government backed hackers who might have been behind the attack were “part of a larger smear campaign against China”.

She said people needed to be careful about making “random accusations” about who was behind cyber-hacking attacks.

“Given the virtual nature of cyberspace and the fact that there are all kinds of online actors who are difficult to trace, I must underscore the importance to have enough evidence when investigating and identifying cyber-related incidents,” Ms Hua said.

“Groundless assumptions and random accusations should not be allowed.”

Ms Hua’s comments come after parliament’s presiding officers, house Speaker Tony Smith and Senate president Scott Ryan, issued a joint statement last Friday saying hackers had tried to break into parliament’s computer network.

They said no data had been stolen but MPs and staff were urged to change their passwords.

They also said several measures had been enacted to protect the network and its users.

The Australian Signals Directorate and Department of Parliamentary Services are investigating the hacking.

The government has made no statement on the forces behind the cyber attack, which is believed to have been in its early stages when it was detected.

Some media outlets reported speculation that hackers from China were behind the attack.