MELBOURNE, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Victoria's public transport network is at risk of being shut down by cyber attacks, a report has warned.
The report, released by Victorian Auditor-General Andrew Greaves on Wednesday, said that the state's railway operators, Metro and V/Line, had "significant weaknesses" in their cyber security.
Greaves' report said the "security vulnerabilities" had exposed the backbone of Victoria's public transport network to "extended or complete loss of train services."
"The security frameworks that train operators have in place do not adequately safeguard the control systems that operate train services," the report said.
"The security controls used to identify, prevent, detect and respond to cyber threats are not able to prevent unauthorized access to the operators' control systems.
"We identified serious security vulnerabilities in the control systems, which could expose them to cyber threats.
"As cyber attacks become increasingly automated and sophisticated, control systems are more vulnerable."
The report said that an attack on Public Transport Victoria (PTV) could have caused economic damage to Metro, V/Line and the state as well as reputational damage to train operators.
Cyber attacks against transport systems are not unheard of in Australia, with Western Australia's (WA) public transport body forced to take a number of websites offline in March to prevent an attempted hack.
Among the report's recommendations were that PTV include assurances over strengthening cyber security in negotiations with Metro over a seven-year extension of the company's operation of Victorian trains.
"(There is) limited security controls for identifying, preventing, detecting and responding," the report said.
"PTV has not identified, prioritized or managed emerging risks to Victoria's essential train services and vulnerabilities of control systems."
A survey released in September revealed that Melbourne has the worst train system in the country, with commuters raising concerns over unreliable services and packed trains.
