A report in The Australian has highlighted the concern held by the three bidders for the Sea 1000 Future Submarine program that detailed plans being formulated for their respective bids are being subjected to repeated hacking attempts by unnamed foreign countries.
TKMS Australia's Manfred Klein told the newspaper the IT team at the company's headquarters in Kiel, Germany, was reporting up to 40 attempts per night.
However the chairman of the German bid team at TKMS Australia Dr John White was not surprised by the reports and said this level of industrial espionage was to be expected on such a highly sensitive project as Sea 1000.
"You just assume it is happening. Everbody is in that game. It's a space that people play in. We don't suspect anyone, we suspect everybody," White said.
China is believed to be the principal suspect, with Russia another likely candidate but the prospect of the three bidders spying on each other was another possibility that couldn't be ruled out, according to The Australian.
In other news concerning the Sea 1000 program, TKMS Australia has also expressed a willingness to do whatever it takes to build the necessary infrastructure in South Australia to position Australia not just for the domestic construction of the future submarines, but also for the purpose of exporting submarines to other countries. White told The Advertiser that the market for 4,000 tonne submarines, the likes of which Australia is seeking to build, is becoming more attractive and countries such as Canada could become potential customers.
White said the TKMS Australia would seek to develop the Techport facility at Osborne in South Australia as a greenfields site for such a purpose.