Article.....this has to be good for Tesserent.

Scott Morrison’s cyber security strategy, to be released on Thursday, will also commit to redefining critical infrastructure, with a specific focus on telecommunications, higher-education sector research, finance and banking, and the defence industry.

Cyber security strategy prioritises protection of infrastructure as ‘crucial’

Peter Dutton says the new cyber strategy is aimed at keeping Australians safe from criminal threats, including ‘pedophiles targeting kids’. Picture: AAP

• Exclusive

  Simon Benson

  National Affairs Editor

  

  Geoff Chambers

  Federal Political Correspondent

  @Chambersgc

  
• 2 hours ago August 5, 2020
• No Comments

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton will be handed unprecedented powers to direct the Australian Signals Directorate to protect the country’s critical infrastructure from cyber attacks, under the Morrison government’s $1.67bn cyber security strategy.

The Australian Federal Police will also be given legislative authority to request technical assistance from the ASD to track servers being used by international pedophile rings, terrorists and drug-traffickers.

The Australian understands the changes will restrict the ASD to providing the AFP with technical capability advice but would not involve the cyber agency collecting information.

Under world-first legislation, which the government aims to pass through parliament by the end of the year, Australia’s security agencies will be able to use computer access warrants to identify and offensively disrupt criminals hiding in the dark web.

The government’s cyber strategy will also double the AFP’s cyber enforcement capacity by 100 officers through a $124.9m investment, and expand the remit of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission.

Scott Morrison’s cyber security strategy, to be released on Thursday, will also commit to redefining critical infrastructure, with a specific focus on telecommunications, higher-education sector research, finance and banking, and the defence industry.

The Morrison government and security chiefs, including AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw and ASIO director-general Mike Burgess, have issued repeated warnings to tech companies over the past two years to remove barriers in the hunt for pedophiles and terrorists using the dark web.

With criminals increasingly shifting to the dark web and using encrypted devices, the new powers would support the “vital first investigative step of identifying perpetrators and the scope of their offending” and collection of information for interception and computer access warrants.

The strategy will also strengthen support for small and medium businesses to upgrade their cyber security strategies and increase funding for cyber victim support.

The Australian understands the government will work with larger businesses, particularly across the defence and research sectors, to increase the cyber security capacity of smaller companies and contractors, focused on “threat blocking, antivirus and awareness training”.

The Prime Minister said protecting vital infrastructure and services from cyber attacks would be a key plank of the strategy, after revealing in June that the nation was under sustained cyber assault from state-based actors.

“We will track criminals in the darkest corners of the internet to protect our families and children,” Mr Morrison said.

Mr Dutton said the strategy was aimed at keeping Australians safe from criminal threats, including “pedophiles targeting kids online in chat groups”.

“Criminals are scamming money off our elderly by stealing their internet banking details,” Mr Dutton said. “Businesses are being locked out of their systems by ransomware attacks. And some foreign governments are using the internet to steal health data and have the potential to turn off banking or energy systems.”

Mr Dutton, who has overseen the cyber strategy through the Home Affairs Department, said the government would equip security agencies with the “powers and capabilities they need to identify and disrupt threats to the safety of Australians … Particularly children, the most vulnerable members of our community.’’

As revealed by The Australian on Wednesday, the country’s classification of critical infrastructure will be reassessed following recommendations made by the advisory cyber security strategy panel, led by Telstra chief executive Andy Penn.

The strategy cites the security of critical infrastructure entities as “crucial to protecting our economy, security and sovereignty”. It will introduce a security framework, including security obligations and government help to private sector companies who come under cyber attack, to “bolster the nation’s resilience and ensure we can act quickly in an emergency”.

Critical infrastructure operators will be supported by a $66m fund to assess their networks for vulnerabilities. More than $67m will be allocated to boost Australia’s joint cyber security centres to increase collaboration with the state governments and industry.