In news announced just last week, the Australian federal government has appointed our first ever Cyber Security Coordinator. This role has been put in place as part of the national effort to make our country the most cyber secure nation in the world.
Who is the new Cyber Security Coordinator
Air Vice-Marshal Darren Goldie AM CSC has been appointed as Australia’s inaugural Cyber Security Coordinator and will commence in the role from 3 July 2023.
Goldie has been in the Royal Australian Air Force for some 30 years where he held various roles, the most recent of which is the role of Air Commander Australia that he took on in April 2022 – a position that effectively prepares air combat forces.
What will the Cyber Security Coordinator be responsible for?
The role of National Cyber Security Coordinator will be a part of the office of Home Affairs, and will have the backing of the National Office for Cyber Security.
This new role will see the coordinator support the Minister of Cyber Security (Clare O’Neil), and lead the coordination of our national cyber security policy, responses to major cyber incidents, work of whole of government cyber incident preparedness efforts, and strengthening commonwealth cyber security capability.
Why is this important?
The appointment of a National Cyber Security Coordinator will help to propel forward the work needed to ensure that Australia is best positioned to respond to the opportunities and threats of the digital age that we are living in.
Over the last 12 months, in particular, we have seen that cyber security threats and incidents are not just limited to the big players in town (see: Medibank, Optus, and Latitude), but many small to medium businesses have also fallen victim to hackers.
In the 2021-22 financial year, the ACSC received over 76,000 cybercrime reports, an increase of nearly 13% from the previous year. That’s one every 7 minutes, so at Calvert we are pleased to see the Federal Government taking cyber security seriously, and we look forward to the months ahead.
Get help with cyber security
If you’d like help with assessing cyber security within your business, particularly with the government’s Essential 8 Framework and what it means for your industry, please contact us today on (08) 7325 5000, or send us a quick online enquiry: https://calvert.net.au/contact/
