THE SQUIZ

Australia is playing catch up when it comes to defending itself against cyber attacks, according to PM Anthony Albanese. He led a roundtable meeting yesterday to discuss “practical, useful and adaptable” cyber security strategies with experts and leading business figures, calling the work “a fundamental priority”. The rising threat of online attacks was on display during the Medibank and Optus hacks last year, Albanese said, and the potential for future crimes to hit government, business, and citizens is real. “This is really fast-moving. It’s a rapidly evolving threat and for too many years, Australia has been off the pace,” he said. That’s something ASIO boss Mike Burgess also touched on at the agency’s annual security address last week, saying there’s “a growing awareness that we must secure our systems”.

SO WHAT’S THE PLAN?

The ambition is to set Oz on course to become “the most cyber-secure nation” by 2030. That means a new 2023-2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy will be formulated as an overhaul of the $1.7 billion plan left by the Morrison Government. Part of it involves establishing a new cyber security office/coordinator within the Department of Home Affairs and giving them yet-to-be-decided powers to protect Aussies during future attacks. Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said the recent hacks had also showed them the legal framework that was set up to help the government manage cyber incidents was “useless” and “broken”… And that means more talks about updating the legislation to allow the government’s security agencies to intervene/take over when hackers are running amok – something parts of the business sector has previously said it’s not keen on. 

AND WHAT’S THE RESPONSE TO ALL OF THIS?

Well, reports say attendees of the roundtable were “in agreement around common themes”, with cyber intelligence expert Katherine Mansted saying they were “excited by the government’s bold vision” but “the devil will be in the execution”. Former Telstra boss Andy Penn says law reform upping standards and allowing government intervention is “undoubtedly” necessary. And the Coalition’s Cyber Security spokesman James Paterson also indicated support for strengthening the laws but said the government is moving too slowly given the events of last year. As for when this will happen – given the increasing risk of attacks, the government is looking to move a bit faster than your internet connection… It wants to hire the cyber coordinator ASAP so they can develop an emergency response plan within a month. And the full plan is to be implemented by the end of the year.