Call for a Cyber Security Summit – interview with Liberal Senator Eric Abetz

With a cyber-attack on an Australian business every 10 minutes and with a total economic hit estimated at $29 billion per year, there is a need to ensure our cyber security readiness is at its very best, according to Tasmanian Liberal Senator Eric Abetz.

It is estimated that by 2025, cybercrime will cost approximately $10.5 trillion annually around the world, up from $3 trillion in 2015. If cybercrime were a country, it would be the world’s third largest economy.

The Australian Cyber Security Centre has noted an increase in cybercrimes together with an increase in their sophistication. Earlier this year, Channel Nine and the Federal Parliament were hit by attacks, with Channel Nine CEO Mike Sneesby describing it as “significant in scale with high potential to disrupt our business.”

Senator Abetz has written to the Minister for Home Affairs to consider a summit of industry experts, business leaders and government agencies to discuss the future of Australia’s cyber security.

“Cyber security is vital for the protection of jobs and businesses, individual and household privacy and finances as it is for all our institutions and governmental departments. There is no doubt that State actors and sophisticated criminal outfits are engaged in this nefarious activity of cybercrime on a regular basis,” said Senator Abetz.

“Whilst the Federal Government has done an outstanding job in tandem with the business sector and institutions, the wisdom of holding a cybersecurity summit is as unassailable as it would be beneficial.”

“By having all the various strands of cyber security defence coming together, there will be the obvious benefit of co-operation and sharing which has always been part of the Australian ethos. Harnessing that spirit by way of collaboration between our own private sector technology world leaders such as Senetas and educators will be of real benefit for all.”

“As the reliance on technology and remote working gains in popularity and practice the best possible protections for all which would be achieved by a national cyber security summit is needed.”

Senator Abetz is the Chair of the Senate’s Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee and a member of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.

RELEVANT LINK:
Government & Private Sector: Working Together for Cybersecurity Protection of Critical Infrastructure https://learnsecurity.mysecuritymarke…