back to article Australia to build six 'cyber shields' to defend its shores

Australia will build "six cyber shields around our nation" declared home affairs minister Clare O'Neill yesterday, as part of a national cyber security strategy. Detailed in a speech before a summit on cyber security, the strategy's six "shields" comprise: Education so that businesses and citizens are informed about the …

  1. martinusher Silver badge

    The Great (Fire)Wall comes to Oz

    Its going to be so tempting to use it for surveillance and censorship -- I wonder if they'll be able to resist?

    ...and, of course, who's watching the watchmen?

    1. Snowy Silver badge
      Coat

      Re: The Great (Fire)Wall comes to Oz

      and just as important who is pays for the watchman and can they disrupt the payments?

    2. simkin

      Re: The Great (Fire)Wall comes to Oz

      It's Australia, this is probably the real purpose of the project. Any actual security benefit would be incidental.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Everybody wants to lead the world …

    … when mere competent adquacy would be fine.

    1. veti Silver badge

      Re: Everybody wants to lead the world …

      I'm pretty sure "competent adequacy" would be world-leading.

  3. Sora2566 Silver badge

    The minister's goal is that "just as you can't go into a car yard and buy a car that will not be safe to use, when you buy a digital product on sale in our country we know that it's safe for you to use";

    I feel like this will be the hardest one of all - given that anything powerful quickly becomes unsafe.

    1. Jimmy2Cows Silver badge

      "...just as you can't go into a car yard and buy a car that will not be safe to use..."

      It's a false analogy, though. There are plenty of used car places selling dodgy, unsafe cars. Every day, all over the world.

      If the minister insists on using car analogies, the minister needs to pick a better one. Still, this is from the country that insisted laws of parilament override laws of mathematics.

  4. ChoHag Silver badge

    > Assisting Australia's neighbors to improve their security is part of this agenda.

    Will they teach us their maths?

  5. Claptrap314 Silver badge
    Angel

    Six?

    Everyone knows you need at least seven...

    1. 6th

      Re: Six?

      Well that's sixest.

  6. Ian Johnston Silver badge

    This will be the same Australia which keeps trying - and failing, miserably - to censor the internet, will it?

    1. DiViDeD

      Re: This will be the same Australia ...?

      That's the one. The only cyber security 'experts' whose built in "This address is blocked for your safety" page triggers an UNSAFE SITE warning from every browser on the planet.

  7. jmch Silver badge

    Nice list, one missing

    Company directors are personally liable for financial improprieties in their company.

    Extend that personal liability from the proper handling and security of money to the proper handling and security of data

    1. Ken Hagan Gold badge

      Re: Nice list, one missing

      If the company's improper handling of data causes it to go bankrupt, I imagine the directors would have questions to answer even without any new laws.

  8. cookieMonster
    Trollface

    I’m disappointed

    Not one single mention of sharks.

    They’ve millions of the things, enough to shield the entire continent.

    How typically unimaginative!!!

    Gutted!!

    1. Snowy Silver badge
      Coat

      Re: I’m disappointed

      Box jellyfish may be a better option and they are far more stealthy and dangerous than sharks!

  9. jmch Silver badge
    Unhappy

    "They’ve millions of the things..."

    Sadly, the number of great whites worldwide is estimated to be far less, ranging between thousands to tend of thousands, although it's very difficult to get a good estimate. Probably not that different for other large, apex-predator sharks.

    So if you're talking sharks generally, millions might be right, but if you want a shark strategic deterrent, that's not really going to work.

    1. Casca Silver badge

      The problem is that the sharks are missing lasers

    2. veti Silver badge

      The sharks are backed up by 80 squadrons of saltwater crocodiles. And if the enemy makes it to land, there's more than a hundred regiments of spiders to meet them.

      Australia is plenty safe.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Seventh Un-named "Cyber Capability"....

    Claire O'Neill spake thusly: "...Critical infrastructure protection...Sovereign infosec capability..."

    Yes, of course....

    And every other country in the world will be saying the EXACT SAME THINGS......

    .....because every other country knows that the Five Eyes countries have "critical attack capabilities".....

    .....but, of course, that's not mentioned by Claire O'Neill....it's just the un-named "seventh" cyber capability....

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Yeah, but ...

    My first reaction was a pang of sympathy for whatsername (recently appointed ... it was in the news too ... can't remember) the new Productivity Commission person. I mean, MORE painful dogma from the growing hordes of security-wallahs, in lieu of actual risk analysis and appropriate mitigation? <sigh!> But then I went to their website to look her up, and found the org chart from Ben Hur. <sigh!> Oh well, I guess a bit more creative tension keeps more people employed.

  12. Tron Silver badge

    Time for Aussies to invest in...

    ...paper and pens. As governments tighten the noose on their surveillance states, it will be much cheaper and less risky to go old skool. Send a SAE for a price list, etc.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    what shores?

    Pint please

  14. BartyFartsLast Silver badge

    one would assume

    That as they're applying commercial analogies to their lunatic idea then they'll be taking liability when it all goes tits up?

    No?

    Well there's a surprise.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Balancing act

    It's easy for us in the industry to be cynical, but I do think it's a good thing that the Australian government are taking cyber security seriously - or talking a good game at least. The challenge will be balancing the controls with western liberal values such as freedom of speech - not easy, especially as you are working with tools that can easily be used for nefarious purposes - who knows what the next government will do with them? I guess you have to make sure new cyber powers go hand in hand with a very strong regulatory and oversight framework.

    1. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

      Re: Balancing act

      Yes, it's easy to be critical of stated ambitions that are infeasible and vague, but at least it's an attempt to move in the right direction.

      In the US, the Federal government has issued hundreds of these sorts of statements, and only a handful have led to actual progress – but a handful is better than none.

      Certainly this is more sensible than some past Australian governmental meddling in this area.

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