A cybersecurity industry advisory board will be appointed in the coming months to support the delivery of the Commonwealth Cyber Uplift Plan, according to the National Cybersecurity Coordinator.
Lieutenant General Michelle McGuiness on Tuesday said the advisory board will be made up of “large providers” that already support the government’s cybersecurity operations and uplift plan, alongside other industry experts.
The Commonwealth Cyber Uplift Plan is an initiative under the 2023-2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy to improve government cyber maturity and protect its IT systems from cyberattack.
Speaking at the King and Wood Mallesons Digital Future Summit 2024, Ms McGuiness said that strengthening public-private partnerships has been a “key theme” in her first six months in the role.
“We hope that that board will be established in the next couple of months, looking forward to working closely with industry to see how they can help us uplift as a government,” Ms McGuiness said.
InnovationAus.com has contacted the Department of Home Affairs for additional information on the role the board will play.
Ms McGuiness, who is overseeing delivery of the cyber uplift plan, reiterated to the summit that the government must “meet or exceed” the standards it sets for critical infrastructure to deliver on its ambition to be a world class trusted digital government.
However, a recent Home Affairs progress update revealed that three of the five cybersecurity strategy action items focused on uplifting public sector cybersecurity have made only “limited progress [or have] yet to be commenced”
A separate Executive Cyber Council appointed in November 2023 facilitates meetings between government officials and private sector executives from across the economy. It includes working groups focused on emerging technology, sovereign cyber capabilities, cyber workforce and small to medium sized businesses.
The National Cyber Coordinator also chairs the National Cyber Intel Partnership (NCIP) between representatives for government, industry, academia, and civil society. This body focuses on cyber threat intelligence sharing and the deployment of threat blocking capabilities.
An NCIP working group is currently developing an automated threat blocking capability that prevents identified cyber threats from reaching end-users, including on government systems.
Development of Australia’s 2020 cybersecurity strategy was supported by a Cybersecurity Industry Advisory Committee chaired by former Telstra chief executive Andrew Penn, but this was dissolved in 2022.
A temporary expert advisory board comprised of Mr Penn, Air Marshal Mel Hupfeld and Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre chief executive Rachael Falk was then brought in to advise on the Albanese government’s strategy.
Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.