Former adviser to Obama and Trump administrations calls for emphasis on cyber policy settings
President of the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise Foundation (GFCE) and former adviser to the Obama and Trump administrations, Chris Painter, has told a cybersecurity conference in Melbourne that nations in the Oceania region, including Australia, must put a greater emphasis on cyber policy.
A vanguard of U.S. and international cyber issues for over twenty-five years, Mr Painter was unequivocal in his keynote that cyber security and cyber security policy was an urgent and fundamental issue of national importance for all nations.
“Given the severity of the threat and our increasing dependence on cyberspace, the U.S. and other governments around the world have moved from treating cyber policy — including cyber security, cybercrime, Internet governance and Internet freedom — as niche or technical issues to treating them as core issues of national security, economic policy, human rights and, ultimately, core issues of foreign policy,” said Mr Painter.
Mr Painter said that, while Australia enjoyed a warm relationship with the U.S., it should not take its position for granted and the Australian government had a responsibility to ensure cyber security, and cyber security policy specifically, remained a priority.
“As an important strategic ally and friend to the U.S., Australia must play its role in engendering resilience across its economy by putting a greater emphasis on cyber at the heart of core government policies,” he said.
