By Staff Writer.
A $9.9 BILLION funding injection has been unveiled by the Australian Government to strengthen Australia’s cyber and intelligence capabilities. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced the package as part of Australia’s 2022-23 Federal Budget, with a commitment to the Government’s Project REDSPICE.
Resilience, Effects, Defence, Space, Intelligence, Cyber and Enablers, REDSPICE is the government’s response to increasing threats of global cyberattacks, and is the nation’s largest investment in cybersecurity to date.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the government’s investments in Australia’s national security spanned air, land, sea, space and cyber capabilities.
“In these uncertain times it is vital that Australia is well-positioned to tackle the challenges our country and our region face,” the Prime Minister said.
“This Budget sets out the investments we’re making that will boost the Defence budget above 2 per cent of GDP not only helping keep Australians safe, but supporting local jobs and industries right here at home. The capabilities we’re backing with our investments mean an even stronger Australian Defence Force, an even stronger local defence industry, and an even stronger pipeline of jobs and skilled workers.” said the Prime Minsiter.
Minister for Defence Peter Dutton said the Government remained committed to building a strong, sustainable and secure Australia through Defence’s 10 year funding model.
“The 2022-23 Budget continues this Government’s strong investment in Defence and the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD). REDSPICE will substantially increase ASD’s offensive cyber capabilities, its ability to detect and respond to cyber-attacks, and introduce new intelligence capabilities.” said Minister Dutton.
“This investment in ASD recognises the deteriorating strategic circumstances in our region, characterised by rapid military expansion, growing coercive behaviour and increased cyber-attacks. It acknowledges the nature of conflict has changed, with cyber-attacks now commonly preceding other forms of military intervention – most recently demonstrated by offensive cyber activity against Ukraine.” added Minister Dutton.
“The current conflict in the Ukraine has heightened how cyberattacks have been brought forward as a key tactic of war. It is encouraging to see the federal government taking the imminent threat of cyberattacks against Australia’s critical infrastructure seriously now that the battle lines are so clearly drawn.” said Crispin Kerr, Vice President, ANZ Proofpoint.
The risk to Australia’s critical infrastructure and services is at an all-time high as government and private enterprise continue to work out how to control the rise in state-sponsored threat actors and cybercriminal gangs.
“A significant cyberattack on critical sectors like healthcare, utilities, education and transport is no longer a question of if, but when. No organisation is immune to attack, with high-profile cyber breaches and attacks continuing to prove this sentiment. In the hybrid working world especially, organisations must hone their defenses and ensure enhancing their security posture remains a critical business focus.” said Kerr.
And while many organisations welcome the government’s investment, there are calls for greater collaboration between the public and private sectors to share threat intelligence, technology and resources.
“The AIIA would have liked to see more clarity around its allocation to ensure a heavier focus and funding allocation towards Australia’s ICT industry and business – this is the area that is suffering severely when it comes to skills shortage and is going to be the driver for economic recovery. The AIIA is very pleased, however, to see $3.9M to support women in mid-career transitions to the tech workforce.” said Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) CEO Ron Gauci.
The budget also supports one of the Government’s objectives to be a leading digital economy by 2030, with technology infrastructure, digital ID and e-invoicing all benefiting as a result.
“It is pleasing to see technology take a prime spot on the main stage in this year’s budget with a broad range of policies and strategies including the release of the Digital Economy Strategy 2022 Update which supports our progress to become a top 10 digital economy by 2030 as we called for in our 2020 White Paper.” said Mr Gauci.
National security was another major topic addressed in the Budget announcement, the funding also supporting approximately 1900 new ASD jobs throughout the coming decade.
“Treasurer Josh Frydenberg referred to the world being a far more dangerous place than it ever has been and the significant investment in cyber shows that the digital dangers are understood by the government and will support national security and see jobs created as a further consequence. The AIIA would also like to see the Cybersecurity measures extended to the SME sector to protect their businesses as well.” said Mr Gauci.
“This funding was very much focused on increasing the numbers of cyber security skilled people. But pleasingly, there are other measures in the budget tonight that support this increase in skills, particularly technology skills and getting more people into skilled, secure employment. Cyber security will be a sizable portion of that and that can only be good for all of us at the family, business and government levels.” said Pip Wyrdeman, Partner – Cybersecurity & Digital Trust at PwC Australia.
“But this will be a challenge – finding or training another 1,900 cyber skilled personnel won’t be easy and it’s not just as simple as throwing money at the problem. In fact we know the size of the problem is much bigger than 1,900 – AustCyber estimated Australia would need 17,000 cyber security workers by 2026 with 3.5 million vacancies globally. There’s much to do so there’s some details we need to see.” added Wyrdeman.
