Luke is joined by James Paterson, Liberal Senator for Victoria, following reports The Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre is raising concerns about the threat from solar inverters, technology converting solar energy to electricity.

Beijing controls 76% of the global market while under China’s laws, solar inverter suppliers could be compelled to conduct surveillance or disrupt Australian power.

With the rise of “smart” devices, the risk has grown as solar inverters are now internet-connected. While individual attacks wouldn’t affect the grid, coordinated ones could lead to a catastrophic “black start” event, taking a week to recover.

This issue resembles concerns about Australia’s 5G network, prompting action to address risks promptly.

This research backs up the work from Senator Paterson, who has revealed he had launched an audit on every federal government department to reveal which were using foreign-owned solar inverters.

“Thousands of these products are being installed every week,” he said.  “We urgently need a plan from the Albanese government before they become too deeply embedded in the grid.”

Download this podcast here