A major cyberattack against Australia's Bureau of Meteorology that may have compromised potentially sensitive national security information is being blamed on China, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported on Wednesday.

The Bureau of Meteorology owns one of Australia's largest supercomputers and the attack, which the ABC said occurred in recent days, may have allowed those responsible access to the nation's defense department through a linked network.

The ABC, citing several unidentified sources with knowledge of the "massive" breach, placed the blame on China, which has in the past been accused of hacking sensitive Australian government computer systems.