<\/a>At the launch of ASPI\u2019s International Cyber Policy Centre in 2013 I fielded a question from the audience: \u2018What will help advance and grow the nature of the discussion on cyber security within Australia?\u2019 My rapid response was \u2018it requires a prime minister who will be prepared to champion the issue and spend some time talking about it with those that can make a difference\u2019. \u00a0Admittedly, I had reservations: cyber security certainly hadn\u2019t been a topic that previous prime ministers had wanted to invest more than a cursory sentence or two in. But, it\u2019s pleasing to be able to say that that has now changed with Prime Minister Abbott chairing a Cyber Security Summit in Sydney on 8\u00a0July, involving some of Australia\u2019s top CEOs and business leaders in an intense three hour exchange.<\/p>\nThe meeting took place within the context of the Australian Government\u2019s Cyber Security Review, announced by the PM in November 2014, alongside the launch of the Australian Cyber Security Centre; the review panel is due to report back in the next few months. \u00a0A key thrust of the Review is underlining the important role that cyber security will play in the increasingly digitised economy of the future. \u00a0The logic follows that as more of our goods, services and transactions are facilitated online we\u2019ll need to be increasingly cognisant that there are a range of nefarious actors who would like nothing more than to profit from those actions, be it through criminal or espionage activities. \u00a0So cyber security needs to be a priority for us all.<\/p>\n
The business representatives gathered in the room spanned various sectors: banking, mining, telecommunications, aviation, retail, consultancy and broader manufacturing. (This is in and of itself is a rarity as those groups don\u2019t often get the chance to meet and talk, let alone about cyber security.) \u00a0The effort illustrated to CEOs that they too need to prioritise the issue in the boardroom, as the PM is doing with his Cabinet. Beyond this, the meeting sought to identify the various ways that Government and Australian businesses can collaborate on this issue, to both strengthen the economy and national security.<\/p>\n
The first point of discussion was the question of how businesses and Government could work together to build skills and education programs to ensure a steady flow of \u00a0skilled workers to address the shortfall in the cyber security profession. The current shortfall in the workforce\u2014and the research and development base which compliments it\u2014can only be fixed through investment in sound policy and a long-term education plan that targets high schools and universities to promote careers in the cyber security profession. Programs need to be established to identify talented pupils, especially females who are noticeably fewer in number in the industry, that show aptitude for the sciences, maths and computing; such initiatives should ensure that there are pathways into higher education courses which teach the right content and technical skills in both the classroom and the workplace, and illuminate opportunities for employment in both the private and public sectors. Building cyber security in Australia will also require psychologists, law enforcers, corporate strategists and risk managers. \u00a0Additionally other professions such as lawyers, accountants and other business leaders need to be able to understand cyber security in order to assess, manage and mitigate the business risk of cyber threats.<\/p>\n
The second focus of the summit was an examination of how those around the table could assist in strengthening Australia\u2019s cyber defences through voluntary cyber security standards and cyber \u2018health checks\u2019<\/a>. There was discussion around how government and the private sector could improve their threat information sharing arrangements. Creating a two-way exchange of timely and usable threat information will be no easy task, and the parameters of this arrangement will have to be thought about intensively before embarking on any practical work, but it was clearly one of the key issues for the room.<\/p>\nThe most significant element of this meeting was the symbolism of the Prime Minister investing his time and attention in the issue. \u00a0It demonstrates that he and his Government believe cyber security is an issue of importance for Australia\u2019s future, and indicates that it\u2019ll be prioritised in the coming months and years. We saw the UK\u2019s Prime Minister David Cameron hold court with business leaders back in 2010, but he\u2019s not spent nearly as much time on the issue as Abbott\u2014a decision that has had a great impact on the way that the UK has prioritised cyber security. We have also observed how President Obama and President Xi have both made cyber security a priority for their nations. It\u2019s likely that we are seeing the beginning of something similar in Australia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At the launch of ASPI\u2019s International Cyber Policy Centre in 2013 I fielded a question from the audience: \u2018What will help advance and grow the nature of the discussion on cyber security within Australia?\u2019 My …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":21573,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[416,391,95,132],"class_list":["post-21571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-australian-government","tag-cyber","tag-cyber-security","tag-tony-abbott"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Cyber security: the new captain\u2019s pick | The Strategist<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n