❓ The WA government is investing $1.8 million in a cybersecurity operations centre to combat increased cyber activity during the COVID-19 pandemic and create job opportunities in the cybersecurity sector. The centre will complement existing agency efforts and collaborate with educational institutions.
AnsweredQoN 765Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CYBERSECURITY OPERATIONS
CENTRE
765. Ms J.J. SHAW to the Minister for Innovation and ICT:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's $1.8 million commitment to establish the state's
first cybersecurity operations centre. Can the minister outline to the house
how the cybersecurity operations centre will help combat the increased level of
malicious cyber activity that we have seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, and
advise the house how this centre will provide more job opportunities for those
working in cybersecurity?
CENTRE
765. Ms J.J. SHAW to the Minister for Innovation and ICT:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's $1.8 million commitment to establish the state's
first cybersecurity operations centre. Can the minister outline to the house
how the cybersecurity operations centre will help combat the increased level of
malicious cyber activity that we have seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, and
advise the house how this centre will provide more job opportunities for those
working in cybersecurity?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Swan Hills
for that very important question.
It is well known that cybersecurity
is becoming more and more of an issue around the world. Attacks on not only the
private sector, but also governments around the world are becoming more numerous
and more sophisticated. Unfortunately,
during the COVID pandemic, we have seen some malicious actors using the
pandemic as an opportunity to mount
additional attacks on governments and private enterprise. They have used the
pandemic to create a number of additional cybersecurity scams in order
to extort money from individuals, the private sector and government.
Members
on this side of the house understand how important it is, especially during a pandemic,
to maintain service delivery, and that is why I am very pleased that we
have announced a $1.8 million commitment to establishing the state's
first cybersecurity operations centre. During this term of government, we
established the Office of Digital Government,
which, for the first time, has 18 cybersecurity experts who are not replacing
the work done by individual agencies but complementing that work. With
this announcement, we have gone one further. By announcing a new cybersecurity
operations centre, we will, for the first time, have the ability to look across
the public sector in real time to see what
traffic is out there and to identify earlier than would otherwise be possible
signs of malicious attack . Again, that will not replace the work done by
individual agencies; it will complement it.
The operations centre will
be staffed initially by cybersecurity professionals from the Office of Digital
Government, but we are recruiting
additional cybersecurity professionals to supplement those roles as the centre
becomes fully operational.
We are determined to continue to
offer the citizens of Western Australia greater access to online services, but
we are adamant that if we are to do that, we need to ensure that we are as
protected and as ready as we possibly can be in the event of a cybersecurity
attack.
Because of the prevalence of
cybersecurity issues around the world, it is actually one of the fastest
growing industries, so there are great opportunities for Western Australians
who have an aptitude for this type of work to seek new careers. One thing we will
do through the cybersecurity operations centre is to engage with TAFEs and
universities to allow some of the best students, if you like, to come through
and get real-life experience in this area. We have previously committed $5.6 million
to the Cybersecurity Cooperative Research Centre, which is headquartered at
Edith Cowan University in Joondalup, so we already have a relationship with
ECU. We have now broadened that to other universities and to TAFE. We are
protecting Western Australians. We are doing our bit during the COVID-19
pandemic to ensure that Western Australia is safe and strong. At the same time,
we are delivering new job opportunities for the many talented young Western Australians
in particular who see this as an industry that they can really make a career
in.
for that very important question.
It is well known that cybersecurity
is becoming more and more of an issue around the world. Attacks on not only the
private sector, but also governments around the world are becoming more numerous
and more sophisticated. Unfortunately,
during the COVID pandemic, we have seen some malicious actors using the
pandemic as an opportunity to mount
additional attacks on governments and private enterprise. They have used the
pandemic to create a number of additional cybersecurity scams in order
to extort money from individuals, the private sector and government.
Members
on this side of the house understand how important it is, especially during a pandemic,
to maintain service delivery, and that is why I am very pleased that we
have announced a $1.8 million commitment to establishing the state's
first cybersecurity operations centre. During this term of government, we
established the Office of Digital Government,
which, for the first time, has 18 cybersecurity experts who are not replacing
the work done by individual agencies but complementing that work. With
this announcement, we have gone one further. By announcing a new cybersecurity
operations centre, we will, for the first time, have the ability to look across
the public sector in real time to see what
traffic is out there and to identify earlier than would otherwise be possible
signs of malicious attack . Again, that will not replace the work done by
individual agencies; it will complement it.
The operations centre will
be staffed initially by cybersecurity professionals from the Office of Digital
Government, but we are recruiting
additional cybersecurity professionals to supplement those roles as the centre
becomes fully operational.
We are determined to continue to
offer the citizens of Western Australia greater access to online services, but
we are adamant that if we are to do that, we need to ensure that we are as
protected and as ready as we possibly can be in the event of a cybersecurity
attack.
Because of the prevalence of
cybersecurity issues around the world, it is actually one of the fastest
growing industries, so there are great opportunities for Western Australians
who have an aptitude for this type of work to seek new careers. One thing we will
do through the cybersecurity operations centre is to engage with TAFEs and
universities to allow some of the best students, if you like, to come through
and get real-life experience in this area. We have previously committed $5.6 million
to the Cybersecurity Cooperative Research Centre, which is headquartered at
Edith Cowan University in Joondalup, so we already have a relationship with
ECU. We have now broadened that to other universities and to TAFE. We are
protecting Western Australians. We are doing our bit during the COVID-19
pandemic to ensure that Western Australia is safe and strong. At the same time,
we are delivering new job opportunities for the many talented young Western Australians
in particular who see this as an industry that they can really make a career
in.
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