The Western Australia (WA) state government has injected $ 25.5 million to strengthen the state’s response to cyber threats by establishing a dedicated cyber security operations center facility and opening new recruitment options for cyber security specialists. Announced.
This total comes from WA’s $ 500 million Digital Features Fund dedicated to improving the state’s digital infrastructure, including the modernization of legacy systems and security.
ICT Minister Stephen Dawson said the state places great importance on protecting the digital population and that new opportunities have the added benefit of providing new, highly skilled jobs.
“The Government of Magawan is committed to ensuring that all Western Australians are safe and secure online,” Dawson said. In release March 25th.
“Cyber threats continue to evolve, so by investing in world-class cybersecurity operations centers, Western Australians will continue to have access to key government services and information. Is guaranteed.
“The expansion of cyber services across the public sector will create local employment and entry-level opportunities for people in Western Australia seeking to enter the cybersecurity sector,” he said.
Australian students have recently been backed by the federal government after announcing that fully paid training will be available to those who are urgently pursuing their careers as cyber security specialists.
The state’s push to strengthen digital defense is in line with the federal government, which recently announced new world-class cyber and foreign intelligence facilities.
The facility will strengthen the country’s defensive and offensive cyberwarfare capabilities by Defense Minister Peter Dutton issuing a clear warning against the foreign threat of Australia’s “counterattack as needed”. Is set to.
Deputy Defense Minister Andrew Hastie emphasized the fact that Australia is increasing pressure from foreign powers.
“Because of conflicts around the world, authoritarian nations are increasingly using cyberattacks to undermine and threaten democracy,” Hastie said. Said..
In 2021, Australia’s Cyber Security Center (ACSC) witnessed a surge in cybercrime, receiving an average of once every eight minutes.
This includes attacks on governments, power plants, hospitals, food producers, telecommunications, media and educational institutions.
However, while some of these were independent attacks, others came directly from state-based attackers, such as Russia-linked SolarWinds attacks and China-linked Microsoft email server attacks.
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Daniel Khmelev is a Perth-based Australian reporter working on energy, technology and politics. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, physics and computer science. Contact him at [email protected]