Page 27 - May 2019

Cyber Security

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Key points:

Major General Marcus Thompson has warned the threat of cyber attacks on the military
is on the rise.
The senior Defence official has concerns about Australia's ability to handle a major attack.
Foreign hackers have gained access to the major political parties in a cyber attack.
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The threat to defence "So procedures around the hygiene of that
itself device, both passive and active defence of
those platforms and missions systems as well
Major General Thompson said the number as our computer networks, that's where we
one priority of the Information Warfare are focusing our attention right now."
Division was to defend the military system The Information Warfare division also
from attacks, which included the computer oversees cyber attacks that Australia
systems on planes and ships that could be launches on foreign forces in war zones, and
hacked by the enemy. Major General Thompson said he expected
"Our focus is on the development of the number of "offensive attacks" to increase.
defensive cyber capabilities … for one good
reason: the defence of our networks and "Whether that's stopping a
mission systems is not only the most pressing drone from dropping a grenade,
priority, it's also the harder challenge," he or [stopping] flying explosives
said.
Major General Thompson said the into one of our locations, we
weapons used by the Australian Defence need to be able to defend
Force were changing with an ever-greater against that type of threat and
reliance on technology into the future, which we do."
added an extra level of security concerns.
"When we consider it won't be too long He said there were two main reasons the
before there is very little in the Australian nature of warfare was changing from soldiers
Defence Force infantry drive in terms of with guns to soldiers armed with keyboards.
hydraulics," he said. "The cost of entry into this area is incredibly
"Everything will be fly by wire, sail by wire, low relative to other military capabilities, [and]
drive by wire. there is a greater opportunity for the various
"The first thing that happens when that uses of cyber space as a society becomes
ship comes alongside or the aircraft is towed more dependent on information and our
into a hangar is that someone is going to plug electronic devices."
in an electronic device. Political reporter Stephanie Borys

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-19/australian-
army-under-cyber-attack-major-general-marcus-
thompson/10822966

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