Miners report 'cyber-attacks'

Three major Australian mining companies have been the targets of Chinese cyber attacks, with one coming around the time of Stern Hu's arrest there on bribery and spying charges.

ABC Television's Four Corners programme said mining giants BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group had all been the subject of cyber attacks emanating from China.

One, targeting Rio's computer network, happened around the time of Hu's arrest in July.

Hu last month was sentenced by a Shanghai court to 10 years in jail for taking bribes and stealing commercial secrets.

A Rio spokesman said the issues involved were "sensitive" and refused to talk about them, however former employees and senior government sources confirmed the attack did happen.

The company is said to have thought it serious enough to take their Singapore office offline for almost three days following Hu's arrest, so it could upgrade network security.

It also apparently affected Rio's Perth office, as crisis managers confronted China's claims of spying and bribery.

- AAP