Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull
It looks like it might be a good time for the Aussie IT channel to flex its cyber security muscle, with the Federal Government launching a new program aimed at promoting and expanding the local cyber security sector.
The Cyber Security Sector Competitiveness Plan, launched on 20 April, is an initiative aimed at providing a roadmap to assist in strengthening the Australian cyber security sector.
It was developed by the Cyber Security Growth Network, an industry-led, not-for-profit organisation responsible for delivering the activities of the Cyber Security Growth Centre, the latter of which was established by the government late last year.
The establishment of the Growth Centre was a key part of the government’s $1.1 billion National Innovation and Science Agenda and Australia’s Cyber Security Strategy.
The new plan will help Australia’s cyber security solutions sector realise its full potential in a rapidly-growing global market expected to be worth US$170 billion by 2020, and is expected to help triple the size of the country’s cyber security revenue from approximately $2 billion to $6 billion in the next decade.
The government hopes that its new industry-led strategy will help to position Australia as an “innovative and trusted source” of cyber security capability to organisations, both locally and around the world, according to a joint statement by Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Arthur Sinodinos, and Minister assisting the Prime Minister for Cyber Security, Dan Tehan.
“The plan highlights the great capabilities we can leverage into the future, and immediate improvements to processes and structures that will help us to capture opportunities that come with the growing domestic and global need for cyber security solutions,” Sinodinos said.
“Australia is home to some amazing talent, but our cyber security sector is small. We need to grow the sector, scale up its activities and find ways to collaborate effectively in order for our country to make its mark in this global field,” he said.
According to Sinodinos, the plan sets out how Australia can realise its potential in the cyber security field.
The launch comes as the Federal Government marks the first anniversary of its Cyber Security Strategy, introduced in April 2016, with Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, at the time setting out the government’s plans for meeting the dual challenges of the digital age – advancing and protecting our interests online.
“Australia will face major cyber security challenges in the future,” Turnbull stated in the foreword of his government’s first annual update of its Cyber Security Strategy. “Australian families and businesses continue to be targeted by cybercriminals. Some foreign nations continue efforts to compromise our national security.
“Over the past year we have witnessed cyber security events here and overseas disrupt infrastructure and services, cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to companies, threaten the confidentiality of networks on an unprecedented scale, and attempt to interfere with democratic processes. This is unacceptable,” he said.
Going forward, Turnbull said that government plans to build “even greater” collaboration between government and the private sector, stimulate further innovation and develop “new paradigms” for countering cyber security challenges.
Meanwhile, Turnbull’s cyber security specialist, Tehan, suggests that the new plan represents another key milestone achieved in the government’s Cyber Security Strategy anniversary week.
“Being a leader in cyber security will also provide opportunities for business to expand and innovate and for Australians to forge careers in the growing cyber security sector,” Tehan said.
“The Sector Competitiveness Plan launched today aligns with the Government’s Cyber Security Strategy and will help form a roadmap for Australia to seize the opportunities of being a leader in cyber security,” he said.
