Census Review a Map to Strengthen Weak Cyber Links
The recommendations in the review of the August Census failure represented a new approach to providing agencies with better support and advice as they transition to a digital world, Macquarie Technology Group Managing Director of Hosting and Government, Aidan Tudehope, said today.
The report was important recognition that many Government agencies needed more support and guidance to come to grips with the cyber security challenge, Mr Tudehope said.
“The Australian Signals Directorate is a highly skilled group of cyber security specialists, but the report acknowledges that it presently is not resourced to always be able to provide other parts of government, especially smaller agencies, with access to its knowledge when they need it.
“Similarly, the report’s recommendation that the new Digital Transformation Agency takes a greater role overseeing the security governance and assurance of government agencies acknowledges the need for security to be ‘baked in’ as government systems are moved to cloud computing models, not added as salt and pepper as an afterthought,” he said.
The importance of lifting the cyber awareness of senior managers within Government was highlighted in a report commissioned by Macquarie Technology Group from the National Security College, released earlier this month.
The report, Weakest Links: Cyber Governance and the Threat to Mid-Sized Enterprises, found medium sized businesses and government agencies were unable to find the skills and resources needed to respond to the cyber security threats of the interconnected digital world.
These weak cyber security government vulnerabilities created risks not just for them, but for other organisations that were connected to them.
“The recommendations from the PM’s Cyber Security Special Adviser go a long way toward strengthening these weak links,” Mr Tudehope said.
“It represents a silver lining in an otherwise sorry tale for the Government.”
Contact
Aidan Tudehope 0411466461
About Macquarie Government: Macquarie Government is a division of the Macquarie Technology Group (ASX MAQ). It provides services to Federal and State Government agencies, including Secure Internet and Secure Cloud services.
