A representative from the federal Attorney General's Department travelled to the US to participate in Cyber Storm, but according to a department spokesperson was there solely for observational purposes rather than on behalf of any Australian security agency or specific critical infrastructure sector.

A spokesperson for Attorney General Philip Ruddock said this participation has strengthened Australia's working relationship with the US Department of Homeland Security.

The spokesperson said Australia conducted its own table top exercise (TTX) that ran for a full day on February 9, 2006.

"The exercise was extremely valuable and tested the methods of communication and collaboration between Australian government agencies," he said.

"The fictitious Australian scenario was deliberately conceived to be peripheral and removed from the events comprising the US exercise, with the emphasis on an essentially Australian issue."