ACS Fails to Secure the Digital Economy

The Australian Computer Society (ACS) has identified five key ICT issues to raise during the federal election campaign: Skills, Digital Literacy, Advice to Government, Data on the Digital Economy and Open Data. While these are important issues, computer security is missing from the list. In my view the security of the national information infrastructure needs to be urgently addressed, as Australia is vulnerable to on-line attack by criminals, terrorists and nation states.

One way to secure the infrastructure would be for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to raise an Australian CyberWarfare Battalion (ACWB) of 300 personnel, to protect Australia's national information infrastructure. All but a small cadre would be reserve military personnel who have full time jobs as computer security professionals.