Aussie forces ready, but cyberwar is chaff

Australia’s military and defensive structures place it in a better shape to defend itself against cyber attacks than the United States, according to a senior analyst.Gartner research director Andrew Walls said the nation’s military and intelligence agencies, including the armed forces and the secretive Defence Signals Directorate, have been assigned clear areas of responsibility and are structured to promote information sharing.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/aussie-forces-ready-but-cyberwar-is-chaff-339307244.htmAlso see:Strengthening Australia’s cyber security capability [news release]
Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, today opened the new office of the national computer emergency response team, CERT Australia, in Brisbane.CERT Australia commenced operations in January this year and is the Government’s primary source of cyber security information for the Australian community and the point of contact for Australia’s international cyber security counterparts.”Australia, like the rest of the world, faces increasingly sophisticated and organised online threats. For this reason, the new Brisbane office is particularly important as it will significantly enhance Australia’s cyber security and computer response capability,” Mr McClelland said.The establishment of CERT Australia was a key initiative of the Australian Government’s Cyber Security Strategy, which recognises the importance of detecting and responding to significant cyber threats.”Through its work with the private sector, CERT Australia aims to ensure that the systems that provide everyday services for Australians are safe and secure. In this way, CERT Australia works to improve the resilience of both our critical infrastructure and the broader digital economy.”As part of this role, CERT Australia has established three sector-specific information exchanges with the banking and finance, control systems and telecommunications sectors to enable government and business to share sensitive cyber-security technical information and experiences in a highly trusted environment.CERT Australia also works with other national CERTs around the world, and led Australia’s recent participation in the multinational Cyber Storm III exercise which recognised the importance of continually testing our ability to prevent and respond to a widening range of cyber threats.”Importantly, CERT Australia has recently accepted an invitation to join the Asia-Pacific CERT community, and is negotiating bilateral cooperative agreements with a range of countries in the region.”The Government remains committed to protecting our national interests in an evolving security environment and CERT Australia will be at the forefront of that effort.
www.attorneygeneral.gov.au/www/ministers/mcclelland.nsf/Page/MediaReleases_2010_FourthQuarter_12November2010-StrengtheningAustraliascybersecuritycapability