Australia has joined the United States and the United Kingdom in calling out China for “malicious cyber activities” after a massive hack of Microsoft’s email system

In a statement, Australia’s Ministers for Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs and Defence say they are deeply concerned about China’s alleged use of criminal hackers.

The statement says “Australia calls on all countries – including China – to act responsibly in cyberspace.”

The Ministers say China has engaged individuals to “carry out cyber-enabled intellectual property theft for personal gain and to provide commercial advantage”.

Microsoft’s Exchange platform was hacked back in January, with numerous private firms attributing teh attack to Beijing.

It is only now that countries including Australia, America and England have publically called out China for the attack.

The United States says it is joining other nations in “holding the People’s Republic of China accountable” for what it described as a “pattern of irresponsible, disruptive, and destabilising behaviour in cyberspace”.