Page 18 - Australian Defence Magazine July 2019

DEFENCE BUSINESS
CYBER
ASD:
supporting the Defence mission
A CAREER infantry officer, LTGEN Frewen is the top uniformed cyber man in the land.
He has been wearing two hats as the head of the ACSC within ASD, since Alastair MacGibbon moved back into industry.
ASD has made a conscious decision to come into the light as it were. Both LTGEN Frewen and ASD Director-General Mike Burgess are increasingly making public re- marks about the shadowy nature of their world. While not pointing fingers at partic- ular threat scenarios or outlining in detail the cyber warfare landscape, the focus is on attracting and retaining a cyber workforce for both defensive and offensive operations on behalf of the Australian government in dealing with media.
ASD has been a statutory authority for barely a year now, in the wake of the 2017 review into Australia’s intelligence commu- nity. The review recommended that ASD’s
legislative mandate be amended to explicit- ly recognise its national responsibilities for cyber security, including the provision of advice and assistance to businesses and the community and that it take formal respon- sibility for the ACSC.
On 1 July 2018, following the passage of the enabling legislation through Parliament on 28 March 2018, ASD became a statutory agency. This is the most significant change to the organisation, and its antecedents, since the Defence Signals Bureau was es- tablished 72 years ago, in the aftermath of WWII.
“The move to become a statutory author- ity has given us greater flexibility in at- tracting and retaining a highly specialised technical staff,” LTGEN Frewen explained to ADM. He also noted that the organisa- tion is not after purely technical people in all cases. “We need curious minds with cre- ative problem solving skills too.”
KATHERINE ZIESING | CANBERRA
Going into R5 in Russell is
an odd experience. Being completely device free
is a rare thing in modern
life. But when one wants
to speak to Lieutenant General John Frewen, the Principal Deputy Director- General of Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) and current head of the Australian
Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), rules are rules.
18 | July 2019 | www.australiandefence.com.au