The Federal government has reaffirmed its commitment to cyber mitigation with a minister warning organisations to up their cyber defences.

Minister for Justice, Michael Keenan, addressed the International Conference on Cybercrime and Computer Forensics held in Queensland this week and noted that the Government will continue to protect itself and Australian businesses as global threats rise.
“We know that criminals will seek to exploit any weakness to gain access to victims and extort funds, and in the 21st century, cyberspace has become their new frontier,” Keenan said.

“Poor cyber security erodes trust and confidence in the online world, and can cause significant financial losses – conservatively estimated to cost Australians over $1bn each year, and $17bn in economic imposts.

“Ransomware, including the recent WanaCry and Petya incidents, are an increasingly global cyber threat to all organisations that do not have appropriate defences.”

Keenan noted that between 1 January 2015 and 30 June 2017, the Australia Signals Directorate responded to 1,766 cyber security incidents on government systems as referrals to Australian Federal Police have risen on intrusions from 10 in 2015-16 to 15 last year whilst extortion referrals have risen from one in 2015-16 to 14 in 2016-17.

Thus far, the Coalition Government has invested $230m in cyber security nationally with the National Cyber Security Strategy Defence White Paper containing up to $400m more in funding to enhance cyber defences.
Keenan said that the government will continue to collaborate with industry, business, academia and the community on cyber risk to respond to rising threats.

“By combining our expertise, information and tools, we can create a hostile environment for cybercriminals.”


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