Page 62 - Australian Defence Magazine April-May 2021

62 CYBER OVERVIEW
APRIL-MAY 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
CYBER STATE OF PLAY
Early in February, a worker at a water treatment facility in Florida noticed some unusual activity
on a computer screen. A window popped up with an alert; the computer had been accessed remotely. The cursor navigated through programs and – before the worker’s eyes – increased the level of sodium hydroxide in the water from 100 parts per million to 11,100 parts per million.
EWEN LEVICK | MELBOURNE
SODIUM hydroxide is used in small amounts to remove heavy metals from drinking water. It’s also a common ingredient in drain cleaners and chlorine bleach. Luckily, the worker was able to rectify the damage before any toxic water flowed out of the public’s taps.
Subsequent reports revealed that the unidentified hacker was able to access the facility through TeamViewer, a desk- top sharing program, running on Windows 7. That operat- ing system was introduced over a decade ago and Microsoft ceased supporting it in January last year.
Many readers may be familiar with the main element of this story: a government IT system using decade-old software that’s no longer supported or updated by the manufacturer. The Florida hack is an illustration of what the cyber state of play looks like in early 2021 –national infrastructure can still prove an easy target for malicious and sophisticated actors.
DEFENCE INVESTMENT
In Australia, the Department of Defence is investing money into strengthening its virtual fortifications. In August last
year, Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds announced the details of Joint Project 9131 (Defensive Cyberspace Opera- tions) to ‘strengthen the ADF’s deployed cyber resilience.’
The project builds on the back of the 2020 Force Struc- ture Plan and opens with an investment of $575 million to ‘deliver a comprehensive training program to support the growth of the ADF cyber workforce, including virtual cyber training environments and tools.’
According the Minister Reynolds, a staged investment is also planned to develop training, tools and infrastructure. One of the first cabs off the rank is the construction of the Joint Information Warfare Facility in Canberra to offer cy- ber training and simulation systems.
The involvement of Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) will also link industry to the Cyber Threat
ABOVE: Combat clouds are becoming the new normal but their protection is still being developed.
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