Organisations convinced they have been the victims of state-sponsored cyberattacks may want to take a deep breath and look at their employees first, one security expert has advised during his address at the AusCERT 2013 security conference.

With the government said to be the biggest buyer of malicious tools, some fear it will weaken the nation's cyber defenses -- public and private

Intelligence not the only part of government that has struggled. Senate has not moved on legislation to back President's order on cybersecurity

Though once a rare topic, today the air is filled with accusations of state-sponsored cyber-espionage and break-ins as the governments of U.S., China, Russia, Israel, India and Iran, among others, can be heard calling foreign cyberattacks a threat. The effect is a powerfully accelerating cyber-nationalism that's driving buildup of cyber-commands and general rancor that may spill over into trade relations.

Experts say it doesn't matter if IT is classified because requirements will be passed on to them by the utility, telecom or defense manufacturer

White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt says the information security community is right to be spooked by massive, coordinated attacks that recently targeted Google. But he rejects the notion that this is cybergeddon, and believes the best defense remains in the hands of the private sector.