Three million Australians were almost affected as Chinese hackers reportedly hit Queensland's CS Energy in an attempt to shut down two power stations.

On November 27, CS Energy confirmed the ransomware incident on its ICT network but did not explicitly link it to the attacks reported on Wednesday.

CEO Andrew Bills issued a statement on November 30, saying: “CS Energy moved quickly to contain this incident by segregating the corporate network from other internal networks and enacting business continuity processes.”

“We immediately notified relevant state and federal agencies, and are working closely with them and other cyber security experts.”

According to Mr Bills, this was not an isolated incident and was part of a growing trend of cyberattacks seen both in Australia and in other countries abroad.

“This incident may have affected our corporate network, but we are fortunate to have a resilient and highly skilled workforce who remain focused on ensuring CS Energy continues to deliver electricity to Queenslanders.”


The cyberattack started when employees began to lose access to their emails and other critical internal data.

Then, the energy company swiftly realised the intruders were trying to bypass their internal corporate systems to access the generators that circulate 3,500MW of electricity into the grid.

In an ingenious move to stop the hackers from gaining access, the IT specialists separated the company’s corporate and operational computer systems, essentially cutting their network in half.

The last-minute action was proven to be successful as the hackers failed to seize control of the generators. However, they were mere minutes away from shutting down power which would affect over three million QLD residents, according to sources.

Following the incident, Intelligence and Security Committee chairman Senator James Paterson warned that urgent reforms were needed to strengthen the country’s cyber defence capabilities, given that nations like China and Russia are becoming increasingly hostile.

“Our cyber vulnerabilities are increasing in complexity for two reasons: firstly, the increasingly interconnected digital nature of our lives,” said the senator.

“And secondly, because of the evolving security environment in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly China's willingness to use every domain available to achieve its geostrategic objectives, including the cyber realm.”