"Cybersecurity in the Pacific: How Island Nations Are Building Their Online Defenses"
Researchers at Monash University and the Oceania Cyber Security Centre (OCSC) are working with Pacific governments to assess their current cybersecurity situations and make recommendations for the path ahead. Leaders from several Pacific nations recently met in Fiji to strengthen ties and promote regional unity. The Pacific faces numerous challenges, including the threat of climate change and the competition for influence in the region among major powers. Despite these challenges, Pacific countries have demonstrated tenacity in preserving their own and the region's identity and sovereignty. The Pacific Islands Forum's 18 member states signed the Boe Declaration on Regional Security in 2018, which outlines an expanded concept of security that includes cybersecurity. The declaration established cybersecurity as a shared priority for the region. As online services and remote work have grown in popularity in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the stakes have risen even higher. Cybersecurity will be required to sustain economic development in the face of natural disasters, changes in the global security situation, and global economic upheavals. Pacific Island countries rely on fragile undersea cables for broadband Internet access. Placing government processes online, modernizing digital infrastructure, and encouraging e-commerce will increase security risks. Pacific nations may wish to maintain sovereign control over their data while securing their digital spaces. Data is often controlled outside the country as a result of digitization. The introduction of digital currencies and mobile payments may also weaken a country's control over its monetary policies. Working with overseas cybersecurity suppliers may require the country to hand over access to sensitive data, networks, and systems. The team is using the University of Oxford's Cybersecurity Capacity Maturity Model for Nations (CMM) and their own studies to help Pacific Island countries assess their current posture, identify what to prioritize, and determine how to bolster local capacity and sovereign capability. They are developing a regional framework for island state cybersecurity, which will help such countries build effective emergency response teams, strengthen cyber resilience, and ensure data sovereignty. This article continues to discuss cybersecurity in the Pacific and efforts to help island nations bolster their online defenses.