In a joint project led by the NSW Police Force and Cyber Security NSW, a new AU$ 25.3 million Cyber Security Operations Centre has been launched aimed at safeguarding the NSW Police Force systems from terrorists, organised criminal networks and hackers. The Australian-first operations centre will be made up of a frontline tactical team of 15 analysts and engineers working seven days a week.
The region’s Deputy Premier and Minister for Police stated that the Cyber Security Operations Centre would strengthen the Force’s cyber security defences by identifying and blocking threats in real time. He noted that the NSW Police Force holds a significant amount of sensitive data relating to local, national and international criminal investigations, and there are criminals who seek to obtain this information.
Analysts in the Cyber Security Operations Centre Command respond to and prevent threats of disruption to the police network every day. These threats often come from organised crime networks or cyber criminals – and investment in this Australian-first operations centre is about ensuring that the centre’s analysts are equipped to stop them immediately.
Protecting police systems fundamentally means protecting the people of NSW by allowing the Force to function securely and effectively, and ensure criminal investigations proceed unthwarted, the DP said.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government stated that it is vital that NSW continues to push ahead with its vision to be a world leader in cyber security to protect and advance its digital economy. He said that now more than ever before, governments, people and businesses are at risk from ongoing cyber security threats and Cyber Security NSW is committed to working with government agencies to improve cyber resilience and ensure they are prepared.
The NSW Government is committed to developing an Australian-based cyber security workforce that is world-leading when it comes to taking on increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks. Since June 2020 the NSW Government has invested AU$ 315 million through the Digital Restart Fund to bolster the Government’s cyber security capability and grow the local cyber industry.
The 2021 NSW Cyber Security Strategy was announced last year. It builds on the previous NSW Cyber Security Strategy and the 2018 NSW Cyber Security Industry Development Strategy, combining the two into one overarching cyber security strategy for NSW. This strategy seeks to outline the key strategic objectives, guiding principles and high-level focus areas that the NSW Government will use to align existing and future programs of work.
The cyber security sector plays a dual role in the digital economy – defending and protecting the economy as well as underpinning its growth. Cyber security forms the backbone of a strong digital society, providing a trusted environment necessary to grow digital transformation and the confidence needed to advance digital adoption. Concurrently, strong cyber capability protects the economy from losses due to cybercrimes and builds the foundational capability to grow the emerging digital technology sector.
As a result, it is the NSW Government’s vision for the state to become a world leader in cyber security: protecting, growing and advancing its digital economy. To become a world leader, it is imperative to build the foundations to grow the ecosystem and cyber security workforce, provide viable commercialisation pathways, generate increased local demand for and supply of sovereign cyber security solutions and capabilities and continually improve cyber resiliency across industry and government.
As a result, four commitments make up this strategy:
- Increase NSW Government cyber resiliency
- Help NSW cyber security businesses grow
- Enhance cyber security skills and workforce
- Support cyber security research & innovation
Working together with the NSW government, citizens, industry and state and federal counterparts will be crucial for achieving the outcomes of the strategy.
