Australia has unveiled its 2022-23 federal budget, showing a strong commitment to cybersecurity, in which it plans to invest USD 6. 8 billion.

The USD 6. 8 billion investment will be allocated and spent by the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) over the next 10 years through a new program called Resilience, Effects, Defense, Space, Intelligence, Cyber and Enablers (REDSPICE). REDSPICE aims to ensure Australia keeps pace with the rapid growth of cyber capabilities of potential adversaries.

It provides new intelligence capabilities, new cyber defences to protect the most critical systems, and is a real increase in the potency of ASD’s ability to strike back in cyberspace. The purpose of the initiative is to build on Australia’s cybersecurity foundation by expanding the range and sophistication of the country’s intelligence, offensive, and defensive cyber capabilities. The strategic objectives of the programs are to deliver strategic advantage, lead cybersecurity, support military operations, counter cyber-enabled threats, and provide trusted advice and expertise.

Overall, the theme is capturing and maintaining the Australian public’s trust in the government’s ability to protect against cybersecurity threats. Where the funding is going The investment will fund the following cybersecurity-related projects the Consumer Data Right measures with USD 26. 6 million, a fourth cyber hub within the Australian Taxation Office (USD 20.

9 million), shaping global critical and emerging technology standards (USD 12. 9 million), and continuing digitalisation of the transport sector (USD 9. 4 million).

Over the next decade, the Australian cybersecurity sector aims to become larger, more diverse, and more sophisticated. Providers will continue to refine their market offerings to meet their customers’ varying cybersecurity needs and continue to support the changing economy. There will be new opportunities fuelling further growth as the application of technologies at the points of convergence between, and within, sectors create more complexity and pressure on systems and networks.

In the current Australian economy, sectors are increasingly connected – digitally and physically – but with different levels of digitisation and cyber protection. Therefore, the application of secure by design principles will drive the involvement of cybersecurity earlier in value chains for many different products and services, and the sector will need to respond to these changes by adopting its services and identifying new customers. The rise of cyber-attacks As the world increasingly digitises, the frequency and severity of cyber-attacks has risen.

In Australia, the average number of monthly attacks increased by 33% in the first half of 2020. Globally, reports by the FBI and NordVPN cite a 40% increase in daily cyber-attacks, compared to pre–COVID-19 levels. Large businesses reported the most attacks (33%), with small and medium enterprise (SMEs) coming in second (32%), followed by the Australian Government and national infrastructure (20%).

Other sectors, such as large Australian technology, mining and retail companies, are also likely to require more cybersecurity goods and services to be supplied locally as supply chains become more localised in the wake of COVID-19. A shift towards secure by design will further contribute to a turn to local, more specialised capabilities. .