Australia’s former spy boss has warned jihadists could soon be capable of launching destructive cyber attacks, urging more should be done to build a “cyber secure country”.

David Irvine – who stepped down as ASIO director general last year – also predicted rising tensions in Asia would increasingly be fought out in cyberspace.

Launching a new cyber report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Mr Irvine said that while terrorist organisations had not yet shown sophisticated cyber attack capabilities, Australia should be prepared for the worst.

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“We must anticipate, given the sophistication that they have already demonstrated in using the internet for propaganda and other reasons, that they could well develop destructive attack capabilities in the near future,” he said.

The ASPI report – Cyber Maturity in the Asia-Pacific Region – stated Australia had slipped from second to fifth place in terms of cyber policies and practices.

The report concluded the United States remained the Asia-Pacific’s most advanced regional nations, but Australia had fallen behind because of “rapid regional advancements” led by Japan, South Korea and Singapore.

Speaking in Canberra, Mr Irvine said cyberspace would be the platform to settle rising tensions in Asia.

“We can also anticipate the political tensions in our region can be played out online as cyberspace becomes increasingly another medium for international competition and for the promotion of national interests,” he said.

Mr Irvine said state-organised cyber attack threats went beyond government information to include “personal and commercial” data.

– ABC