Australia fires up tech anti-terror initiative

The Attorney-General's office has teamed up with Queensland-based AusCERT to create a national information security alert scheme, which will lead to the creation of a centralised information source on IT security issues ranging from viral outbreaks to serious hack attacks.

The initiative is part of a broader scheme which will also include a national incident-reporting system foreshadowed at the launch of the 2002 Australian Computer Crime and Security Survey in September this year.

While the details have yet to be confirmed, a source within AusCERT told ZDNet Australia   the group will be promoted as the first line of reporting for IT security breaches and incidents and provide an important information source for the technology community.

"Many businesses don't know who to report incidents to, the police are the logical answer, but they are principally interested in legal issues," the source said. "Also when there are high profile security alerts AusCERT can publish them and become a point of reference."

Further details of the project, which is likely to be funded as part of the AU$24.9 million allocated in the Federal Budget to IT infrastructure security in this year's budget, will be released on Thursday when the Attorney-General Daryl Williams officially launches the initiative.


News in context
Visit this page for ZDNet Australia's comprehensive coverage of Australian cyber threats.

Advertisement

Talkback 0 comments

Latest Videos

Sponsored content

Power Centre - Content from our premier sponsors

Blogs

  • David Braue All I want for Xmas is Telstra pricing
    Five consecutive days without broadband has led me to what seemed at the time to be an act of desperation: contemplating signing up for Telstra's 100Mbps cable modem service.
  • Array Sick of broken tender sites
    Some of the state governments desperately need to invest in more user-friendly tender sites so that looking for information on government tenders doesn't have to be a game of blind man's bluff.
  • Array Cyberwar: What is it good for?
    In this week's episode, Cyberwar. What is Australia's place in the world of digital warfare? What are the implications for the NBN?
  • More blogs »

Tags

Back to top

Featured