Federal government to spend another $1.6b on increased cybersecurity initiatives
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton have announced another $1.6 billion dollar package to increase spending on new cybersecurity initiatives, including more expanded law enforcement powers and capabilities for police and intelligence agencies e.g. the Australian Federal Police (AFP) over the next 10 years to investigate, apprehend and counter malicious, illegal activity on the dark web.
They have also committed to boost community awareness raising exercises to prompt households to upgrade their cybersecurity software against phishing scams and viruses, new security frameworks and tools for critical infrastructure providers and introduce a voluntary ‘internet of things’ code of practice so consumers can assess web-related products they purchased online.