Today’s blog post discusses Australia’s Cyber Security Strategy 2020, a Government investment of $1.67 billion over 10 years and what this means for your business. We look at the current state of cybersecurity in Australia, provide an overview of the Government's commitment and discuss how this will help business owners in today’s increasingly digital landscape.
Cybersecurity in Australia
We recently published a blog post in collaboration with .au registrar and brand services provider CSC on the increasing threat of cyberattacks in Australia.The post gave reference to recent attacks on Governmental institutions and essential services within Australia and best practices for businesses and individuals to follow in order to protect themselves.
To complement news of the Government’s investment, and to further extend the notion of cybersecurity awareness within Australia, this week is Scams Awareness Week, an initiative to increase awareness of harmful online activity and ways we can fight this. This national campaign is run by Scams Awareness Network, a task force “made up of government regulatory agencies and departments in Australia and New Zealand that work alongside private sector, community and non government partners to raise awareness about scams and disrupt them.”
For digital assets, and information on how you can get involved go to cyber.gov.au.
Australia’s Cyber Security Strategy 2020
On August 6th 2020, the Australian government released the Cyber Security Strategy for 2020, and announced a significant financial investment to assist businesses, communities and Governments in creating a more secure online world for all Australians, their business and essential services.
The strategy explains that cybersecurity is at the heart of a transition to a digital society and that there has been a noticeable increase in online attacks since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides a comprehensive action plan in preventing and responding to cyber threats.
The below image explains the roles and responsibilities of each sector and how these interrelate:
Image 1: Australia’s Cyber Security Strategy, page 19, Figure 3
What does this mean for my business?
The report highlights many advantages to businesses, including steps the Government is taking to:
- Secure essential services (including by actively defending networks using both defensive and offensive tools)
- Secure products and services (including the Internet of Things devices and the release of a voluntary Code of Practice for manufacturers to signal the importance of protecting consumers)
- Grow a cyberskilled workforce (including a Cyber Security National Workforce Growth Program).
In recognising the importance of both strategy implementation and evaluation, the document provides an overview of key metrics and lists several initiatives to be carefully measured against performance criteria on an ongoing basis. This will assist in ensuring that all parties are held accountable for delivering successful outcomes.
As an ongoing area for continued improvement, cybercrime is one of the biggest threats to Australia today and the Government’s strategy aims to prioritise our nation’s cybersecurity posture and reduce susceptibility. As registry operator for .au domain names, Afilias Australia works closely with the Australian Signals Directorate in monitoring and responding to threats to protect the .au namespace against malicious actors. We embrace this new strategy and will work with Government agencies to ensure that our part of the infrastructure remains protected and do all that we can to support the vision of a more secure online world.
Have a question, comment or idea for a future blog post? Email us at blog@afilias.com.au