Cyber experts have urged Australia to rely less on foreign businesses, technologies and expertise for its defence against hackers as it puts the finishing touches on the nation's new cyber security strategy.
Foreign providers are responsible for most cybersecurity products and services in Australia, with local companies not among the top 15 software providers in the local market.
The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age have revealed that the government's expert industry panel will deliver advice from this week urging the country to invest in local industry to boost the nation's defence
The government is waiting for the report of the Industry Advisory Committee, chaired by Telstra CEO Andrew Penn, before finalising its new four-year cybersecurity strategy .The industry committee's report, which is expected to urge the government to invest in more training, will be released in the coming weeks, senior government sources said.
The advice comes after Australia has faced multiple cyberattacks against all levels of government, industry and political organisations, which are believed to be from China.
Fergus Hanson, director of the International Cyber Policy Centre at the Australian Institute for Policy Strategy, said Australia needed to increase its investment in human resources as a first step, while guidelines for public procurement that set a minimum level of local content might also be required.
Mr Hanson said the government should also clearly define which areas of cybersecurity it wants to have a dominant capability in, so that the business community can invest in those areas.
The Morrison government has already highlighted the development of a "sovereign cloud" to hold Australians' data to protect personal information from overseas governments and companies
The government announced last month that the country's leading cyber defence agency, the Australian Signals Directorate, would also hire 500 staff and boost capabilities with a $1.3 billion boost.
Mr Hanson said the management had difficulty finding people with the required skills to fill the 500 positions.
Alex Scandurra, emerging technology expert and CEO of non-profit innovation hub Stone & Chalk, said having a dominant cybersecurity capability would be beneficial to Australia's national security and its economy.
Mr. Scandurra said that public procurement should be used to promote investment in the local cybersecurity industry.
“A dominant industrial capability is not just about the ability to meet skills requirements with Australian nationals – but also the ability to work with suppliers that are owned and based in Australia and subject to laws and oversight,” he said.
“Currently, we are heavily dependent on foreign suppliers for cybersecurity tools and products, which is not ideal.
“We don’t always know who else is a customer of these suppliers, we’re not entirely sure what happens to the data they collect from interactions with us, and they’re based in other countries.”
“Even if these countries are allies, it would be far preferable to source cybersecurity tools from companies based in Australia and subject to Australian laws and regulations.”.
Mr Scandurra said Australia already has a significant cybersecurity skills shortage and it is likely this will continue for some time ,especially if companies continue to look overseas to find partners .
An AustCyber report last year found that Australia may need about 17,000 additional cybersecurity workers by 2026 for the sector to realise its full growth potential.
Sarah Sloan, from global cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks, which is based in the United States, said it was important to promote Australian innovation in cyberspace, but the government should not rely solely on local technologies.
