Page 53 - Australian Defence Magazine April 2023

APRIL 2023 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
CYBERSECURITY REDSPICE 53
THE near $10 billion boost to national cyber security capa- bilities was funded, much it seemed, from white-anting the defence acquisition budget.
This was the largest single investment in the 75-year his- tory of the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), Austra- lia’s secretive electronic intelligence agency and the peak body for national cyber security.
Not everyone was happy about all that defence funding go- ing elsewhere, albeit still under the Defence umbrella. Gone were such long-awaited platforms as the General Atomics MQ-9B SkyGuardian armed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). A deal for a dozen aircraft worth around $2 billion had al- ready been fully export approved by the US administration.
THE IMPORTANCE OF CYBERSECURITY
That REDSPICE and the plans to deliver expanded nation- al cyber defensive and offensive capabilities were utterly es- sential was underlined on 7 November last year when Med- ibank revealed the extent of its data breach at the hands of Russian hackers.
These criminals had stolen the personal data of 9.7 million past and present customers and placed it on the dark web. That’s a goodly percentage of the Australian population.
Former Liberal Defence Minister Peter Dutton said the REDSPICE investment recognised the deteriorating strate- gic circumstances in our region, characterised by rapid mil- itary expansion, growing coercive behaviour and increased cyberattacks.
“REDSPICE ensures Australia keeps pace with the rapid growth of cyber capabilities of potential adversaries,” he said. As well as tech and people, there may be some new facili- ties. In March last year, Dutton announced a new world-
class cyber and foreign intelligence facility, at Majura Park, Canberra.
Nowhere in the announcement did the minister say this was to do with REDSPICE. He did say it would further boost ASD’s capabilities as Australia’s leading agency for signals intelligence, cyber security and offensive cyber operations.
GROWING CYBER CAPABILITIES
REDSPICE, believe it or not, is an acronym, not just a co- lourful name reminiscent of some exotic cuisine. It stands for Resilience – Effects – Defence – SPace – Intelligence – Cyber – Enablers.
This was the centrepiece defence budgetary announce- ment of the Coalition government’s March 2022 budget, its last before the Federal election of 21 May which elected a Labor government.
Labor made no changes to REDSPICE in its own budget on 25 October, suggesting it sees the need, though a better indica- tion may be the next budget, likely on 9 May. By then, the long- anticipated Defence Strategic Review will have been released.
So, what does REDSPICE aspire to do? First off, this isn’t a discrete project within ASD – it’s a plan to grow ASD’s overall capabilities.
In the foreword to the REDSPICE blueprint, ASD direc- tor Rachel Noble says the environment in which ASD oper- ates is becoming increasingly challenging.
In recent years, Australia has been targeted by a range of actors conducting cyber operations that pose a significant threat to our security, she said.
“Under REDSPICE, ASD’s offensive cyber capabilities will triple, our signals intelligence capabilities will be en- hanced, while growth in our defensive cyber capabilities
MAIN: The ADF Cyber Skills Challenge 2022 was held in Canberra in November 2022
LEFT:
A participant attempts to hack a security camera as part of the Capture the Flag exercise at the 2022 Cyber Skills Challenge
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