The Commonwealth has officially opened the Joint Cyber Security Centre (JCSC) in Adelaide.
Minister for Defence Christopher Pyne officially opened the Centre and welcomed representatives from federal and state governments, the academic community and business, including critical defence and energy industries.
“South Australia hosts some of the nation’s most important energy, infrastructure and defence assets,” Minister Pyne said.
“This Centre is crucial to protecting our national assets including the wider Defence industry we depend on.”
The new facility expands the footprint of the $47 million national Joint Cyber Security Program and Australia's Cyber Security Strategy. It is part of Australia’s lead cyber security agency, the Australian Signals Directorate, and its Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC).
The Centre will support bilateral partnerships with state and territory governments through an Australian Cyber Security Growth Network (AustCyber) Cyber Security Innovation Node located on the premises.
Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton reiterated the importance of government and industry working together to protect Australian businesses and the community from the increasing threat of cybercrime, including interference from malicious actors and criminal groups.
“The ACSC’s continuing expansion supports this Government’s national security agenda by giving Australians, be it small business owners and operators or large corporate and critical infrastructure companies, access to a broad range of services from cyber security experts around the country,” Minister Dutton said.
Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews said the partnership enhanced AustCyber’s goal of giving state and territory governments the remit and tools they needed to partner together and innovate in their own jurisdictions.
“AustCyber’s partnership with the Marshall Government will help improve cyber defences, develop skills, grow jobs and increase Australia's export opportunities in the booming global cyber security market,” Minister Andrews said.
“The Coalition Government is determined to realise the industry growth opportunity of the rapidly growing global cyber security market, expected to be worth US$250 billion by 2026.”
At the launch, Minister Pyne touched on the importance of cyber security to Australian industry.
"The biggest hurdle to investing in cyber security is convincing Australian business that they have to invest in cyber security," Minister Pyne said. "Many Australian businesses tut tut I think at the breaches that they read about in the magazines, in the defence magazines or the newspapers and think -that'll never happen to me.
"The truth about cyber security is what they don't know, they don't know.
"I now see cyber as very much as very much the fourth arm of the government's military defence responses."