Foreign spies targeted Australia's energy networks, water supply

Foreign spies are aggressively targeting Australia's corporate and defence sector, the nation's top spy chief has warned, revealing "multiple attempts" from an overseas regime to disrupt water, transport and energy networks.

Speaking at the ASIC annual forum earlier on Wednesday, ASIO director-general Mike Burgess said an unnamed overseas country has made multiple attempts to target the country's transport, telecommunications and energy networks.

"Authoritarian regimes are growing more willing to disrupt or destroy critical infrastructure to impede decision-making, damage the economy, undermine war-fighting capability and sow social discord," he elaborated.

"They see sabotage as a tool of coercion, disruption, distraction, and retaliation to test national resolve, readiness, and respons