Cyber Security Seminar: Australian Cybersecurity Policy at Federal Level (and its Relationship to both Cybercrime and Cyberconflict)

23 Nov 2018 3:10 PM - 4:10 PM
Presenter/Speaker: Emeritus Professor (QUT) William J (Bill) Caelli, AO
Location: S.1.02

David Sanger, the national security correspondent for the New York Times and author of the recent book “The Perfect Weapon: War, Sabotage and Fear in the Cyber Age” stated in a recent interview that “..in cyber conflict, the advantage goes to the least-wired society attacking the most-wired society.”  In this regard governments worldwide, and at various levels, have rapidly published statements and policies related to appropriate responses to cyber-security and cyber-defence, now often referred to simply as “cyber”. Australia’s Federal Government released “Australia’s Cyber Security Strategy: Enabling Innovation, Growth & Prosperity” in 2016 with a “First Annual Update” in 2017. The strategy identified five major “themes” as requiring action over the years to 2020. These were based upon:

1. A national cyber partnership;
2. Strong cyber defences;
3. Global responsibility and influence;
4. Growth and innovation; and
5. A cyber smart nation.

These need to be assessed against national military and defence policy overall, particularly in regard to funding and development as well as against similar policies and programs developing internationally, particularly in the Asia/Pacific (APAC) region. Emphasis needs to be given to necessary support for training, education and research in the area, now deemed to be of critical national security importance.

BIO:
Emeritus Professor William J (Bill) Caelli, AO is an Emeritus Professor at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University and an Honorary Fellow at TAFE Queensland. He serves on the National Cybersecurity Committee of the Australian Computer Society (ACS) and its Cyber Resilience Task Force. Prof Caelli has over 54 years of experience in information and communications technologies, and related policy and management areas, with some 43 years in all aspects of cybersecurity, from STEM to policy matters, including consultancy and advisory projects in Australia, USA, Hong Kong and Europe. He has served on advisory committees to the Australian Government in IT matters and been involved with the International Federation for Information Processing over many years as well as the USA’s Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education. He was the Founding Director of Australia’s first academic research and education centre for cybersecurity in 1988 at QUT. He has conducted, and still conducts, research into trusted systems and network technologies, cryptographic systems integration and management, public policy development, aspects of cyber conflict and crime as well as providing cybersecurity consultancy services internationally. His most recent book “Cyber Conflicts and Small States”, with Prof Lech Janczewski of the University of Auckland, was published in 2016. He was made an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) in 2003.