![Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Cyber Security Dan Tehan told AFR Weekend the government was working with the ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20170616130932/http://www.afr.com/content/dam/images/g/u/o/4/r/5/image.related.afrArticleLead.620x350.gwqyyt.png/1497600100072.jpg)
The federal government will consider providing political parties with additional resources to defend themselves against state sponsored cyber espionage, but only if they can show there is a compelling need.
Sources inside the parties said their security systems were robust enough to repel most attempted incursions, but they don't have the resources to combat the growing and largely unknown threat posed by state actors.
The issue raises the question of a possible role for government in funding defensive cyber security capabilities for political parties and other core democratic institutions.
Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Cyber Security Dan Tehan told AFR Weekend the government was working with political parties on cyber security but it was "their responsibility to make sure they are taking the appropriate actions to keep themselves cyber secure."
"When it comes to question of resources, at this stage, no case has been put to me which shows there is a compelling need for additional resources. But, of course, if a proposal or a proposition is put to me this is something that we would consider," Mr Tehan said.
Earlier this year, many of the leaders of the parliamentary and administrative branches of the major political parties, as well as some minor parties, attended a briefing on cyber security in the Cabinet Room organised by the Prime Minister in the wake of the US presidential election.
AFR Weekend understands advice was provided at the briefing about the measures political parties should be taking to protect themselves against cyber attacks, including utilising what is known as the 'Essential Eight', a list of practical cyber security measures recommended by the Australian Signals Directorate.
"That is part of the ongoing message to all organisations, whether it be political parties, companies etc. to make sure you're up to date with the Essential Eight," Mr Tehan said. "Cyber espionage is alive and well and we have to be awake to that."
But political parties are not as wealthy as most people think, one source said, and the unknown nature of the threat meant defensive measures were hard to target and the broad approach required to combat nation states was beyond their capabilities.
Crossbench Senator David Leyonhjelm, who attended the briefing, told AFR Weekend concerns were raised about foreign cyber attacks, particularly from Russia, and extended beyond nation states to well-resourced criminal organisations.
As well as holding potentially sensitive communications between the highest level of Australia's policy makers, political parties also maintain private databases built on the electoral role which could contain information valuable to criminal groups.
One source said there was an acknowledgment among the major parties that, given the fundamentals of democracy at play, something needs to be done sooner rather than later to combat the threat, and government should play a role.
Mr Tehan said the sentiment that protecting our democratic processes goes to the heart of who we are as a nation, was echoed by the Prime Minister at the meeting.
However, without government support the parties may need to look to donors to fund additional cyber security capabilities, which could include foreign donors. Mr Tehan rejected the suggestion saying "common sense would say the last place they would want to be going is looking overseas for foreign donations."
One senator told AFR Weekend: "I assume all my communication is being monitored"; a sentiment Mr Tehan was wary of commenting on, but said it was impossible for anyone to be 100 per cent cyber secure.
"Given the changing nature and movement of technology," he said, political parties "will never be able to offer a guarantee that they are 100 per cent cyber secure." He went on to note some advice he was given when he was first elected.
"Everything you communicate as a member of parliament, whether it be via email or verbally, you should always be very aware that anything you say could end up on the front page of a newspaper."
Last month Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said he believed there was more government could be doing "in a bipartisan cooperative effort" to combat the threat posed by hackers.
"We've seen the Russian hacking allegations in political processes around the world," Mr Shorten said. "People should not underestimate the impact of cyber crime across the world. Australia is not immune."
"As much as people might not want to think about this issue, it's coming down the road to us and I do think we need to help our private sector strengthen their ability to deal with cyber crime."