{"id":39023,"date":"2018-05-03T09:00:34","date_gmt":"2018-05-02T23:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=39023"},"modified":"2018-05-03T09:03:20","modified_gmt":"2018-05-02T23:03:20","slug":"vulnerable-australias-national-identity-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/vulnerable-australias-national-identity-data\/","title":{"rendered":"How vulnerable is Australia\u2019s national identity data?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

There is general consensus among the government, civil society and industry sectors that data is a critical asset in our lives. Everything from knowing the weather in the morning to reading the news and checking emails is based on an underlying assumption about reliability. In short, we assume that the data, in whatever form it may be, is accessible, accurate and verifiable.<\/p>\n

Data is central not only to our personal lives, but to the functioning of society and government. Every nation is sitting on a goldmine of data, from health records to immigration, intelligence and defence data. Yet, there\u2019s an inherent risk in putting so much trust into an asset that is highly vulnerable. The broad spectrum of cyberattacks and technological advancements in cybersecurity highlight how easily our dependence on reliable data can be shattered.<\/p>\n

Data is a vulnerable and critical asset. There are four key examples that highlight how it can be manipulated and abused by cyber warfare and information operations. As outlined in the Australian Signal Directorate\u2019s Information security manual<\/em><\/a>, it\u2019s important to have an understanding of the cyber threat environment and of malicious cyber actors to best mitigate such threats.<\/p>\n

Firstly, data can be stolen. The practice of stealing information through cyber espionage is well-established in military and intelligence operations. In one example of state-sponsored cyber espionage, millions of government officials\u2019 fingerprints, social security numbers and personal and financial were stolen from the US Office for Personnel Management<\/a>. China is also active in cyber espionage, for example obtaining military documents and sensitive information from the Philippines government<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Secondly, data can be made inaccessible or restricted. Cyber sabotage attacks information for financial gain or to create chaos and disruption. The WannaCry ransomware attacks of 2017 were a recent example. The virus encrypted files and demanded that a ransom be paid for the data to be decrypted. Various governmental institutions and companies were affected by the attack<\/a>. Britain\u2019s National Health Service<\/a> couldn\u2019t access its health records and had to cancel non-urgent operations.<\/p>\n

Denial of service (DDoS) attacks are also commonly used against government websites to disrupt services and restrict public access to government information. There have been DDoS attacks on government websites in Thailand<\/a>, India<\/a> and Luxembourg<\/a>, among others. Even NATO\u2019s website<\/a> has been affected. The Digital Attack Map<\/a> tracks the top daily DDoS attacks globally and highlights the scope of the problem.<\/p>\n

Thirdly, the reliability of information has been compromised by fake news and disinformation. Deliberately disseminating false information is a form of cyber-enabled influence operation, the deliberate attempt to influence decisions and opinions. The most blatant example has been the alleged interference by Russia in the 2016 US elections<\/a>. China also has a hand in influence operations in Taiwan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Finally, data is vulnerable due to the systems on which it is stored. Cyberattacks on critical infrastructure is a tool of cyber warfare. As we saw in Atlanta, cyberattacks can cause an entire city to come to a standstill. As a Forbes<\/em> article rightly pointed out, we must recognise the threat posed by cyberattacks not only to critical infrastructure services, but also to democratic and governmental continuity<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Attacks on critical infrastructure, particularly energy systems, are increasingly common. The world\u2019s biggest oil company\u2014Saudi Aramco\u2014was hit by a malware attack in\u00a02012<\/a> that successfully wiped data from approximately 35,000\u00a0computers and caused the company to temporarily suspend oil sales. Ukraine\u2019s energy sector was also the target of a cyberattack\u2014attributed to Russia in\u00a02015\u2014that caused power outages<\/a> to more than 225,000\u00a0citizens.<\/p>\n

These vulnerabilities threaten the continuity of certain functions within society. The question then arises: can the continuity of our digital national identity also be threatened? Data collections such as our immigration, birth, death and marriage records, parliamentary records and court rulings are the evidence of who we are as a nation. If such assets were stolen, destroyed or manipulated, would we have a point of truth to fall back on? As Anne Lyons argues,\u00a0our digital national identity assets\u00a0are vulnerable to manipulation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We should take a leaf from Estonia\u2019s book. Estonia is the only country to have fully realised the vulnerability of its critical governmental data and taken action to ensure its protection. Estonia is creating an overseas \u2018data embassy\u2019<\/a> in Luxembourg to store its government data. The idea is that if Estonia suffered a catastrophic attack, either physical or cyber, the essence of Estonian government, history and society wouldn\u2019t be lost. This initiative safeguards Estonia\u2019s critical data by storing that data in different, geographically distributed locations.<\/p>\n

Although Australia hasn\u2019t been targeted on a large scale as yet, we haven\u2019t been completely immune either. Most (in)famously was the DDoS attack during the 2016\u00a0census, causing the ABS\u00a0website to crash<\/a> and delivering a significant blow to the reputation of both the Australian Bureau of Statistics and to the Australian government. Some years earlier, the group Anonymous subjected the Australian Parliament (APH) and a senator\u2019s website to DDoS attacks, shutting down the APH website for 50\u00a0minutes<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

It is no secret that data is a target of cyber warfare. That vulnerability threatens our national security. Understanding the constantly evolving cyber threat environment and the tools of cyber warfare should make clear the importance of protecting critical data. As the threats expand, so too should our ideas of what data we need to protect.<\/p>\n

The Australian government needs to ensure that our critical national identity assets are protected from manipulation, falsification or destruction to ensure the reliability of the data that underpins our democracy, governance and national security.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is general consensus among the government, civil society and industry sectors that data is a critical asset in our lives. Everything from knowing the weather in the morning to reading the news and checking …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":753,"featured_media":39024,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1395,2138],"class_list":["post-39023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-critical-infrastructure","tag-cybersecurity"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow vulnerable is Australia\u2019s national identity data? | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/vulnerable-australias-national-identity-data\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How vulnerable is Australia\u2019s national identity data? | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There is general consensus among the government, civil society and industry sectors that data is a critical asset in our lives. Everything from knowing the weather in the morning to reading the news and checking ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/vulnerable-australias-national-identity-data\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-05-02T23:00:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-05-02T23:03:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/hacker-1944688_640.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"426\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Melissa Liberatore\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Melissa Liberatore\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/vulnerable-australias-national-identity-data\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/hacker-1944688_640.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/hacker-1944688_640.jpg\",\"width\":640,\"height\":426},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/vulnerable-australias-national-identity-data\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/vulnerable-australias-national-identity-data\/\",\"name\":\"How vulnerable is Australia\u2019s national identity data? | The Strategist\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/vulnerable-australias-national-identity-data\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-05-02T23:00:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-02T23:03:20+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/5c5720febf4730374faaa938d20e89a4\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/vulnerable-australias-national-identity-data\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/vulnerable-australias-national-identity-data\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/vulnerable-australias-national-identity-data\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How vulnerable is Australia\u2019s national identity data?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/5c5720febf4730374faaa938d20e89a4\",\"name\":\"Melissa Liberatore\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8b52ec41cf6cc988e952bea4b88b514c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8b52ec41cf6cc988e952bea4b88b514c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Melissa Liberatore\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/melissa-liberatore\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How vulnerable is Australia\u2019s national identity data? | The Strategist","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/vulnerable-australias-national-identity-data\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How vulnerable is Australia\u2019s national identity data? | The Strategist","og_description":"There is general consensus among the government, civil society and industry sectors that data is a critical asset in our lives. Everything from knowing the weather in the morning to reading the news and checking ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/vulnerable-australias-national-identity-data\/","og_site_name":"The Strategist","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org","article_published_time":"2018-05-02T23:00:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-05-02T23:03:20+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":426,"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/hacker-1944688_640.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Melissa Liberatore","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ASPI_org","twitter_site":"@ASPI_org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Melissa Liberatore","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/","name":"The Strategist","description":"ASPI's analysis and commentary site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/vulnerable-australias-national-identity-data\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/hacker-1944688_640.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/hacker-1944688_640.jpg","width":640,"height":426},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/vulnerable-australias-national-identity-data\/","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/vulnerable-australias-national-identity-data\/","name":"How vulnerable is Australia\u2019s national identity data? | The Strategist","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/vulnerable-australias-national-identity-data\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2018-05-02T23:00:34+00:00","dateModified":"2018-05-02T23:03:20+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/5c5720febf4730374faaa938d20e89a4"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/vulnerable-australias-national-identity-data\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/vulnerable-australias-national-identity-data\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/vulnerable-australias-national-identity-data\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How vulnerable is Australia\u2019s national identity data?"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/5c5720febf4730374faaa938d20e89a4","name":"Melissa Liberatore","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8b52ec41cf6cc988e952bea4b88b514c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8b52ec41cf6cc988e952bea4b88b514c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Melissa Liberatore"},"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/melissa-liberatore\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39023"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/753"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39023"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39023\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39027,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39023\/revisions\/39027"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}