Ian Goodenough (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Cybersecurity is a critical element of our national security. The Australian Cyber Security Centre, within the Australian Signals Directorate, leads the Australian government's efforts on national cybersecurity. According to the statistics contained in the latest ACSC threat report, cyberattacks are now occurring every eight minutes, compared to one every ten minutes last financial year. Malicious cyberactivity is on the rise. We need to face the reality that cybercriminals are getting smarter and hungrier for money and that they're looking to attack infrastructure providers in the higher education, medical and health, transport and telecommunications sectors. All of these major industries are situated within the electorate of Moore.

I recently visited Sapien Cyber, based in the new science building at the Joondalup campus of Edith Cowan University. Chief Executive Officer Glenn Murray and Chief Operating Officer Rochelle Fleming briefed me on contemporary cybersecurity issues and the ways in which the federal government can better enable our local business community to effectively prepare for and defend and respond against cyberincursions; protect against losses to business continuity; and safeguard against reputational and financial loss.

Sapien Cyber had its inception in research at Edith Cowan University. It is a collaboration of academics and industry experienced practitioners in the form of a new commercial-entity model, building upon the university's 20 years of world-leading research in cybersecurity. It is the only Australian owned and operated cybersecurity company focused on protecting critical infrastructure and working on operational technology.

I look forward to supporting the work of Sapien Cyber in the digital sphere by promoting public awareness of cybersecurity threats and advocating for greater funding in investment in order to better safeguard our IT infrastructure, which the economy of the future will be built upon. Infrastructure security is a focus area for Sapien Cyber, as the federal government works to expand the number of defined critical infrastructure sectors, from the current four to 11, under the Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure) Bill 2021.

One particular area of expertise for Sapien is in the security of building-management systems, focusing on the medical and health sector in particular. Joondalup Health Campus is a major hospital within my electorate, and with the highest percentage of cyberattacks targeting the medical sector, we need to be more vigilant in protecting both the hospital itself and the patients within it from interference with building-management systems. Building-management systems centrally control access to buildings, the electrical supply, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, plumbing, fire systems, telecommunications and other key services within the building. Tampering with these systems can cause chaos, leading to potential loss of life.

One of my priorities is to constantly promote job opportunities for local residents. There is a huge deficit in skills in the cybersecurity space. With the City of Joondalup promoting itself as an emerging hub for cybersecurity, the necessary funding and investment for research and education needs to be attracted in order to develop nation-leading capabilities, which will drive long-term benefits for the industry and for the protection of our constituents and fellow Australians. Grassroots cybersecurity education is something we need to invest in to help fill the skills gap across Australia in this critical sector. With Sapien Cyber being a local Western Australian startup company with global reach, it's the perfect example of the type of business that requires further government funding and support for growth. In order for the Joondalup Learning Precinct to develop into a centre of excellence for innovation, technology, research and development, it is essential to attract greater levels of government funding and private sector investment. It is essential that graduates from cybersecurity courses are job ready and prepared to enter the workforce.