China denies Cyber-attack allegations on Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology

China denied that it hacked into Australia's Bureau of Meteorology, after the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported Wednesday about the massive cyber-attack that allegedly came from the Asian country.

According to a report from CNBC, the Chinese government denied allegation that it was responsible for the attack. The hack damaged systems in the federal government and it could cost millions of dollars. BoM operates one of the largest supercomputers in Australia. It provides vital information to various agencies in the Australian nation.

BBC has reported that BoM gives climate data for airlines and shipping companies. It also gives information on national water supplies and also coordinates with the country's defense department. There are no official reports on whether there were any stolen data and why China was blamed for the cyber-attack.

Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that China is against cyber-attacks and that the groundless allegations against their country is not constructive. "We have consistently emphasised that the issue of internet security is a global problem," said Hua Chunying. "The parties concerned need to strengthen dialogue and cooperation to jointly solve the problem in a spirit of mutual respect."

Hua said there should be stronger dialogue and cooperations between the parties to solve the problem together in a "spirit of mutual respect." China has been accused of conducting cyber-attacks in the past.

The US said the recent news on the hacks has put a strain on the relationship between Australia and China. Meanwhile Chinese officials deny the allegations saying their country is also a victim of hacking.

ABC News has reported that Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) executive director Peter Jennings said they have evidence that China made the cyber-attack. The purpose of the attack could be both commercial and strategic.

"We certainly know that among the most active intelligence gatherers is Chinese intelligence," said Jennings."So what we understand of the Chinese attack on the BoM is entirely consistent with what we know of how Chinese intelligence operates."

BoM is an vital national resource that could prove very valuable for other countries. If the ability of Australia to forecast weather as the BoM is compromised, military and aircraft operations would be adversely affected. The bureau could also be a door to other Australian agencies.