Above image: Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Cyber Security Dan Tehan at the launch of the Joint Cyber Security Centre in Melbourne. Credit: The Hon Dan Tehan MP’s Twitter Page.
Australia’s second Joint Cyber Security Centre was officially launched in Melbourne yesterday by the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Cyber Security Dan Tehan.
Building on the success of the first centre that opened in Brisbane in February 2017, the new centre will capitalise on the concentration of cyber expertise in the region. It will provide up-to-date information about the nature and number of cyber threats, as well as help business and government better understand cyber risks and respond to them.
By the end of 2017, additional Joint Cyber Security Centres will be established in Sydney and Perth. Work is also underway on an online information sharing portal to broaden the reach of the centres and support the timely sharing of cybersecurity information across Australia.
The centre is led by CERT Australia and includes representatives from the Australian and Victorian governments, as well as law enforcement agencies and businesses responsible for critical infrastructure and systems of national interest.
The structure of the centre provides a trusted environment for collaboration and information-sharing on cybersecurity. It will also deliver a broad range of activities, from workshops on specific cyber threats, to developing solutions to cybersecurity risks.
The AU$47 million Joint Cyber Security Centre programme has been designed in partnership with industry as part of Australia’s Cyber Security Strategy. Strong cybersecurity enables innovation, growth and prosperity for all Australians – a key focus of the strategy.
The Joint Cyber Security Centres will be closely linked to the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), which is currently being relocated from the ASIO Building to Brindabella Park, Canberra. The ACSC brings together key government agencies and, as part of the relocation, will increase its engagement with Industry and Academia.
Cyberthreats are rising on the whole and getting increasingly sophisticated, according to the recent Threat Report 2017 by ACSC. The ACSC in the last 12 months has identified 47,000 cyber incidents, a 15% on last year. Over half of these incidents were online scams or fraud, which saw an increase of over 22%.
