A top Australian bureaucrat has called on Russia to crack down on the number of cyber criminals operating from within its borders.

Speaking at the AFR Business Summit in Sydney, Michael Pezzullo, secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, said that the actions of cyber criminals pose a threat to national security.

He said: "The greatest density of cyber criminals, particularly those with ransomware, are in Russia. They are not a rule of law country and the thought that you can apply conventional law enforcement disciplines ... is completely naive. We call on the Russian government to bring those hackers to heel."

The public servant added that a potential attack on critical technology infrastructure poses one of the greatest threats to Australian national security.

The Australian government is currently in the process of reforming its cybersecurity policy following a number of high profile instances such as the attack on telco Optus where up to 9.8 million customers saw their data compromised.

The government is also planning to set up an agency in Pezzullo's department that would coordinate government investment in cybersecurity and coordinate responses to attacks.

When contacted by Reuters, a spokesperson for the Russian embassy did not comment on the story.

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