New Australian government cyber funding announcement

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced new cyber security funding to help protect Australia. The funding will improve the Australian Signals Directorate’s (ASD) and the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s (ACSC) ability to disrupt cyber-attacks. The funding is broken down into:

• $470m to expand Australia’s cyber security workforce, creating more than 500 new jobs within the ASD;
• ASD will also be given $118m to expand its data science and intelligence capabilities;
• $62m to deliver a national situational awareness capability;
• $20m for enhanced research laboratory capability;
• $35m for a cyber threat-sharing platform to help the government to work collaboratively with industry to identify and disrupt cyber threats quickly;
• $31m will boost the capacity of ASD to disrupt offshore cybercrime;
• $12m will help ASD work with telecommunications companies to stop malicious incursions.

Many critics dismiss the cyber threat to Australia as being “hype or overstated”, but that is far from the truth and the Australian government is taking the threat of cyber security seriously. The new funding helps to strengthen the ability of Australia’s cyber security agencies.

The Australian Government acknowledges the threat of cyber espionage and foreign interference and the threat to classified government information; commercial information with direct consequences for business and the economy; intellectual property; and the private information of Australian citizens. We are now in a situation where cyber threats impact every Australian and have become an issue not only for governments but for individuals and their online information. We need to “Strengthen the resilience of Australia’s people, assets, infrastructure and institutions” against cyber-attacks but also the ability to rebuild systems quickly after a cyber-attack and minimise their impact and the funding announcement today helps to strengthen Australia’s resilience’s and capabilities”.

While funding is important, the human resource consideration is essential. Industry has highlighted cyber security skills shortages in a number of areas. Appropriate steps should be taken by government to address the current and future skill shortages and promote students to study courses in all aspects of Cyber Security.

The Australian Federal Government’s announcement is a positive step towards protecting Australian against current and future cyber security threats into the future, but the next key step is the release of Australia’s new National Cyber Security Strategy.

Professor Matthew Warren is the Director of the RMIT Centre for Cyber Security Research and Innovation.