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No paras, so a bit hard to wade through. And yeah, "The MAQ boys have really nailed the Cyber opportunity!", and being reflected in nice steady rise in SP.


"White House calls Australia a hallmark for cyber defence

Matthew Cranston United States correspondent Apr 20, 2022 – 1.16pm

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The Biden administration called Australia’s response to cyber threats a hallmark among allies, and said more co-ordination was needed globally to respond to state-sponsored cyberattacks, especially around cryptocurrencies.US Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology, Anne Neuberger, who was instrumental in helping Microsoft defend the Ukraine government from Russian malware in the early stages of the war, met government and UN officials in New York to discuss opportunities to enhance shared cybersecurity capacity.Anne Neuberger, the top cybersecurity adviser at the National Security Council of the White House. BloombergIn a briefing following her meetings, Ms Neuberger said on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST) Australia was a leader in responding to cyber threats, pointing to legislation passed last month on protecting critical infrastructure.“Australia’s recent passage of critical infrastructure legislation is very much a hallmark of what countries need to do to ensure there is adequate security to protect critical services their citizens rely on,” she said.Under the legislation, Australia’s critical infrastructure providers – including energy and telecommunications companies, payment system operators, media, and food and grocery suppliers – face new obligations to protect themselves from cyberattacks and other threats.In the latest budget, the Australian government announced a $9.9 billion funding increase over 10 years for the country’s premier cybersecurity agency, the Australian Signals Directorate, boosting its capability to conduct offensive and defensive operations.Ms Neuberger also called out Australia for its leadership on naming those responsible for attacks.“Australia has joined us in multiple attributions over the last couple of years, from the Chinese compromise of Microsoft Exchange, that compromised thousands of servers around the world, to the Solar Winds activity, which Russia conducted almost a year-and-a-half ago,” she said.“Certainly Australia has led and joined in that way.”Holding perpetrators accountableHowever, she also hinted that her meeting with officials was about trying to get faster responses so that state sponsors of cybercrime were called out sooner.“We must work together as an international community to hold states accountable for any disruptive and destabilising activity in cyberspace, just as we would in the physical world,” she said.She said countries needed to work through processes to make it “more quick and more agile for us to both attribute activity and call out those consequences”.“There’s a global cybercrime treaty, let’s discuss what countries need in that treaty, so that we can ensure that we put in place an environment that can achieve global law enforcement needs.”“The United Nations can and must continue to play a central role in setting expectations for responsible state behaviour in cyberspace,” she said.“Australia has been one of our closest allies, in really promoting that framework of responsible state behaviour.” - AFR