Federal MPs and staff at Parliament House have been told to turn their phones off today when a delegation of top Chinese politicians visits the building.
Zhao Leji, chair of the National People's Congress of China, is heading the party of VIPs and was welcomed by Governor-General Sam Mostyn on arrival in Australia before being hosted at a formal dinner yesterday.
But ahead of Zhao's visit to Parliament House today, MPs and staff members have been put on notice to take cybersecurity precautions.
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An internal email sent to MPs and employees, seen by 9News, shows the Chinese politician's path through parliament, warning anyone near it to shut their blinds and close their doors.
It also says Wi-Fi is expected to be disrupted, as well as a request to make sure all devices are up to date.
If in an area near his route, the advice is to completely turn off phones and electronic devices, or at the very least, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Federal frontbencher Amanda Rishworth told Today this morning the visit by the Chinese politicians was "important" for relations with China.
"The Chinese delegation has been invited by the presiding officers, and we have a lot of different delegations come to our parliament … I'm not going to go into security advice," she said.
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But Greens Senator Larissa Waters said she received the email and it raised issues about cybersecurity at Parliament House.
"If one man walking through the building can bring us all to a halt, then I think our cybersecurity needs a bit of a look at," she said.
This month, domestic security agency ASIO warned critical Australian infrastructure was being targeted by China-supported hackers.
In a speech, the agency's director-general Mike Burgess said they were attempting to carry out "high-impact sabotage".
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