Welcome to the inaugural issue of the Australian Cyber Security Magazine. What, another security magazine, I hear you say? Yes, and it’s filling a much-needed gap. Let me explain why. We already publish a variety of security-related journals, newsletters and video channels, covering a range of subject matter: information security, physical security, national security, defence and intelligence, policing, as well as conferences, vendors and products. But the world has changed significantly over the past five years. Large multinationals are hosting their entire IT infrastructure in the cloud, while our homes are becoming increasingly automated and connected to the Internet. The Internet of Things (IoT) has shown us that there are no limits to the services being conceived to support what were once standalone devices. Children’s toys are fully integrated and network-connected, while our cars, home appliances and our clothes all report their status back to online servers. Today’s attack surface is greater than ever, yet some of the most fundamental principles of information security have been overlooked in the race to be the first to market. On the flip side, criminal gangs are making more online cash than they are from traditional criminal endeavours, such as drug trafficking, robbery and extortion. Estimates have the cost of cybercrime rising to over $5 trillion by 2020, which is likely to be still short of the real global overhead since many attacks go unreported. With the so-called skills gap on the rise (that’s a debate for another day) and organisations finally understanding the need for executive support for security programmes, there has never been a more exciting time to be in the Australian cyber security business. Therefore, we’ve developed the concept of the Australian Cyber Security Magazine to give you a one-stop-shop for news, reviews, features and facts from around the Australian cyber security industry. Each issue you can expect to see news and reviews from the industry, both here in Australia and overseas, as well as feature articles from experts on a variety of important subjects. As usual, if you are interested in writing for one of our publications just get in touch – we are always keen to hear from our readers. Some of you may have noticed the recent passing of the privacy amendment bill through the Senate, meaning significant changes are coming on how businesses must deal with security, privacy and breaches. Failing to report a violation or protect the data you are the custodian of can lead to fines of up to $1,800,000, so you must be prepared to put the governance structures and security controls into your organisation. If you have a turnover of more than $3 million or happen to be a federal government department, the new laws apply, and you will run the risk of being fined if you don’t comply. We’ll be covering privacy and security matters more in following issues, so keep an eye out for those articles later in 2017.
You will also be aware that in April 2016, Malcolm Turnbull launched the Australian Cyber Security Strategy. This ambitious plan contained four strategic pillars explaining what the vision for Australia’s cyber security is, which will allow us to become the economic hub of APAC. Australians will have a robust cyber security foundation, including the cyber readiness of government, industry, education and citizens. It’s certainly an ambitious strategy, but we see the beginnings of the investment and structural changes within the federal government to realise this goal, so it shows the government will put its money where its mouth is. It’s never been a more exciting time to be in cyber security. I hope you enjoy reading the first issue as much as we have enjoyed putting it together. Stay safe and keep secure.
