Parliament hack report to stay secret

A final report on the hacking of parliament's computer network is unlikely to be released publicly, even in a redacted form.

Senate President Scott Ryan told a parliamentary committee on Monday he would be giving an update shortly on the February cyber attack, which also hit the networks of the Liberal, Labor and National parties.

He described that as a "plain-language briefing" rather than the full security report.

"I'm not convinced that publishing the report I've received, even in a redacted form, would be helpful," he said.

"It's purely a personal view, I haven't discussed it with the Speaker or officials."

Security sources had pinned the attack on China, Reuters reported in September.

But Senator Ryan refused to confirm even whether the government was aware of which state actor was behind the attack.

"I don't think that these matters are appropriately canvassed in a public forum," he said.