"Australia Has a New Cybersecurity Agenda. Two Key Questions Lie at Its Heart"
In response to last year's cyberattacks faced by Optus and Medibank, the Australian government is exploring a new cybersecurity strategy. Claire O'Neil, Minister for Cyber Security, released a discussion paper aimed at answering questions regarding the government's role in improving Australia's cyber resilience. The government will also establish a National Office of Cyber Security and a Coordinator for Cyber Security position inside the Department of Home Affairs. Due to a lack of policy or regulation, O'Neil stated that the government was trying to establish proper solutions to the major hacks of the last year. Each of the breaches experienced by Optus and Medibank affected around one-third of the Australian population. The information leaked by hackers included driver's licenses, passports, and highly sensitive medical information. In both cases, government assistance was required, such as the development of procedures for replacing driver's license identification numbers. The discussion paper contains 21 questions, many of which are focused on how government and industry should collaborate. Two points, however, stand out as being of the utmost importance: whether the government should prohibit ransomware payments and whether the government should be able to seize control of companies' Information Technology (IT) systems. This article continues to discuss questions and concerns regarding Australia's new cybersecurity agenda.