UXC: Australia’s Cyber Security Strategy a great leap forward
Australia's new Cyber Security Strategy for Australia will help solve problems that plague the cyber security industry and promote "cultural change". "When it comes to skilled security resources in Australia, there are simply not enough to go around. The Government needs to work with industry, not be in competition with it" Clem Colman, Chief Information Security Officer of UXC Group, says. One proposal is the introduction of training programmes for new cyber security professionals. This will make sure that the skills shortages in the industry are filled by graduates who have the expertise right out of university, though the proposal should ideally go further to include TAFEs and other training institutions at the Certificate IV or diploma level. The strategy will further aim to bring government and cyber security together in a joint effort instead of remaining separate and in competition with each other. The appointment of a cyber security ambassador will also ensure the effective management of the cybercrime problem within Australia and its external competitors, as it has been ignored and classed as an "elephant in the room", Colman says. Issues such as monitoring centres and academic centres of cyber security need to be qualified as proper initiatives, David Jarvis, Cyber Security National Practice Lead, UXC Saltbush, says. Risk management is also a potential minefield because proper infrastructure has been pushed out of the spotlight by prolific use of good practice guides. However, the end goal for Australia's cyber security strategy is to "actively promote an open, free and secure cyberspace" with top-down leadership and a focus on cultural change.
"Overall, there is one enormously positive thing about the strategy: it offers leadership from the top, which is essential to achieving cultural change. It's an excellent sign that the government's new cyber strategy takes into account that cultural change is the end game", Colman says.
