The Australian government's newly launched $230 million strategy to bolster cyber-security lacks adequate funding and strategic vision, according to a leading policy group.
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The strategy, launched by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in April, came with an acknowledgement Australia was prepared to take offensive action to protect the national interest.
The funding boost came after $400 million was allocated for staff with hacking experience at the Australian Signals Directorate and the announcement of 800 new intelligence and cyber roles within the Department of Defence.
But the Australian Centre for Cyber Security's latest discussion paper on cyber threats, published on Monday, found the government had fallen "behind the pace" set by strategic partners.
Professor Greg Austin, who prepared the report, said the government had not articulated strategies to reduce the risk of future threats or had an open conversation with the public .
"There is quite a gap in the seriousness with which the Australian government discusses cyber threats and the actions taken by the US and the UK," he said.
"We don't face quite the same threats as the US but there is evidence to suggest the Australian government is not prepared to recognise the serious threat of cyber crime."
Professor Austin said many Australians did not understand the risks cyber crime posed and, as a result, were unlikely to support large-scale investments by the government.
"The Telstra outage that just occurred across the country is exactly the type of challenge cyber attacks could pose if someone was determined to attack our infrastructure," he said.
In the past six months, the computer system at the Bureau of Meteorology experienced a "massive breach", believed to have originated in China, and it was reported that 97 federal agencies were told to encrypt more data amid "hundreds" of attempted intrusions a month.
The report also found the government had not committed with "to develop and implement a specialists training plan in the field of countering cyber crime".
Karen Evans, managing director of talent management firm Acendre, has previously raised concerns the government may not have immediate access to the 900 specialist positions identified.
Professor Austin said he believed there were enough cyber security professionals to meet current demand, although interim measures were available overseas.
"We are not alone in this as we are part of a global economy and we don't have to rely on Australian experts alone, we can draw on people from overseas and do that quite quickly."
Professor Jill Slay, director of the Australian Centre for Cyber Security, said the government needed to develop a national workforce strategy to ensure capability.
"We have to respond to the recent cyber security strategy by laying out national agenda for skills education that is more sophisticated and detailed than a focus on awareness raising or cyber hygiene," she said.
"There are new high-tech threats that are not being addressed in most of the country."
Professor Austin said Australia's strategic partners were spending far more on cyber security initiatives each year.
"The tone and sense of urgency of the national debate in Australia does not rise to the level of intensity as it does in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China and several other countries," the report said.
The US government announced a $19 billion emergency spend to improve the public sectors cyber security in February, which was roughly 400 times Australia's annual spend.
The UK government has also announced an additional five-year spend of 1.9 million UK pounds, or roughly 10 times Australia's annual spend.
