The federal government has adjusted its cyber aspirations from being the world’s best to being among the leaders, a recognition that several factors will be beyond Australia’s control in a “deteriorating” global cyber landscape.
Under a new national strategy unveiled by Cybersecurity minister Clare O’Neil on Wednesday, the government will invest an additional $587 million over four years to develop a series of cyber “shields”.
The vast majority of the new funding to go to building the resilience of businesses, individuals, regional allies and critical infrastructure.
If it works, Australia will “lead the frontier” by 2030, the new strategy says, at that point advancing global cyber norms and developing cutting edge cyber technologies.
Ms O’Neil’s proclamation last year that Australia should be “the world’s most cyber secure country” when announcing the strategy set a high bar, one she acknowledged on Wednesday may not ever be cleared.
“It became clear in the discussions that we’re having – and we’ve done an enormous amount of consultation here – that there are things that are going to influence this problem that the Australian Government and Australians don’t control,” Ms O’Neil told InnovationAus.com.
“We want to set a goal that’s achievable. And I think being a world leader is absolutely achievable.”
One ranking of nations by the MIT Technology Review already ranks Australia as the world’s best thanks to relatively high levels of resources, capacity, policy commitment and protection of critical infrastructure.
Other rankings have Australia lower, towards the back or just outside the global top ten. But there is no widely agreed ranking of nations on cybersecurity.
Ms O’Neil declined to specify exactly how Australia’s efforts will be measured and said the new strategy is not pursuing a zero-attack scenario because it is not feasible in a worsening cyber landscape.
“We’ve just got to be really upfront at the beginning of this process. We’re going to continue to have cyber attacks. The cyber environment is deteriorating, not just here, but in every single other country in the world,” she said.
According to the new national strategy, Australia’s place among global leaders may not happen until ‘horizon 3’ – in 2029 or 2030.
At this point Australia will “We will lead the development of emerging cyber technologies adapt to new risks and opportunities across the cyber landscape”, the strategy says.
A better standing globally would also help Australia execute another new stated goal in the strategy to help develop a more “resilient region” in the Pacific and Southeast Asia.
Almost $130 million in new funding has been allocated to this shield, which will go to engagement, building resilience of the foreign nations and new “rapid response” cyber teams within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to assist Pacific nations when they suffer a cyber attack.
“We want to see a region that’s peaceful, prosperous and secure,” Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Tim Watts said.
“A region that’s governed by rules, norms, and agreed international law. A region where no country dominates and no country is dominated. We’ve been clear that Australia needs to use all the tools of statecraft, in order to realise a region that operates in this way.”
