Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

  Cyber attacks are a clear and present danger to this government and this nation. Australia has not yet suffered a cyber attack yet the threat to the Australian government, infrastructure and industry remains. In the last 18 months, the Australian Signals Directorate responded to over 1,000 serious cybersecurity incidents on government systems.    Last year, the Computer Emergency Response Team Australia responded to over 14,000 cybersecurity incidents affecting Australian business. Of that number, 418 involved systems directly affecting our national interest and critical infrastructure.

This is a new battleground on which Australia's interests and security will be contested. One hundred years ago, our ANZAC forbears could not have imagined the complexity of the new challenges we face. The role of this government is to provide the Australian people both national and economic security. Cyber attacks pose a threat to both of those domains. It is therefore timely that the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Cyber-Security is providing leadership in this vital area. This is a serious government, led by the Prime Minister, that focuses on the real challenges facing this nation.

The Australian government defines a cyber attack as a deliberate act through cyberspace to manipulate, disrupt, deny, degrade or destroy computers or networks, or the information resident on them, with the effect of seriously compromising national security or economic security.    The aim of cyber attacks is to leverage a decisive advantage against Australia in both peace and war. That advantage might be military, economic or political. Key targets are critical infrastructure that provide essential services like energy, communications, public health, banking and finance. These are all increasingly vulnerable to attack. As an example of the sort of chaos that could be rort by an attack, just look at South Australia two weeks ago when they were denied their energy supply. Imagine if someone could hack into the grid and shut down our energy supply.

Our government agencies—defence and intelligence—are prime targets. And, dare I say it, this House and the MPs and senators who occupy it are also targets.    ASD has previously assessed that cyber attacks against Australia would most likely occur against such targets during periods high tension, with the object of escalating conflict. But we are now seeing an increasing trend of cyber incidents against our national interest any other day of the week. Of the 14,000 cybersecurity incidents last year against Australian systems of national interest and critical infrastructure, most were concentrated on economic targets. The energy and communications sectors experienced the highest number of compromised systems, the banking and financial services and communications sectors had the highest incidence of denial of service activity, and the energy and mining resources sectors received the highest number of malicious emails. Corporate Australia is a highly valuable target to those who would do Australia harm. This poses a significant economic risk to Australia, to our prosperity and to our confidence as we deal in a global market. Lost productivity and income and the costs of dealing with these incidents are no small thing. The theft of intellectual property from Australian companies poses a challenge for the future competitiveness of Australia's economy.

Who are carrying out these attacks?    The capacity of terrorist organisations to carry out such attacks is limited. While their use of social media is prolific, their cyber capability remains limited. Most cybercrime targeting Australia originates overseas, and state based actors represent a clear and growing threat—state actors that seek a decisive edge in trade, defence, foreign policy and investment.

I am proud to be a member of a government that takes this issue seriously. Under the able direction of the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Cyber Security, we are implementing a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy. This government is working with industry to promote and implement best practice in cybersecurity, including voluntary check-ups for ASX 100 listed business. We are improving the resilience of Australia's networks and systems, making them harder to attack and compromise. We are working with international partners to address cybersecurity threats and promote a cyberspace in which states abide by international law. More than $230 million has been committed by the Turnbull government to roll out our cybersecurity strategy.

We live in a complex world with constantly evolving threats to our national and economic security. Cyber is the new battleground. The Turnbull government is delivering on its commitment to safeguard the Australian national interest.

House adjourned at 17:00