Covert Contact 78: Australian Cyber Policy

Stilgherrian joins me for an October 2017 conversation about Australia's increasingly assertive cyber policy. We examine recent developments, including the new International Cyber Engagement Strategy, the government's open acknowledgment of offensive capabilities, and Australia's place within Five Eyes. The discussion also looks at the regional relationships that give Australia a distinctive diplomatic role in the Asia-Pacific.

We consider how international rules for behavior in cyberspace might translate into deterrence and accountability. State responsibility, attacks on critical infrastructure, and the ability to identify attackers all matter, but so does the risk of an escalating cyber arms race. A detour through Australian defense technology illustrates the country's long investment in technical capability.

At home, traditionally secretive agencies face pressure to work more openly with journalists, businesses, and the public. Much of the infrastructure they need to protect is privately operated. We discuss the cultural challenges of that cooperation and why clear language matters when describing an attack, a breach, or a serious incident.

The conversation widens to the uneven distribution of cyber skills and resources across the region. We look at the growing competition for data, the economic potential of AI, and concerns that smaller countries could be left behind or excluded from decisions that shape their future. Australia's ambitions for technology industries and education also depend on sustained political attention.

We close with a brief look at the debate over encryption and government access to communications. Stilgherrian considers how authorities might seek access at the devices where messages are written and read, and the security risks that could follow.

We tend to look at technology, and its impact on society, governance, and privacy, through a similar lens so I've always found the regional perspective he brings to those discussions to be very useful. If there's an event in Australia related to technology, governance, security, or privacy Stil is almost certainly involved as an observer or speaker. His work can be found at ZDNet Australia, Crikey, Technology Spectator, CSO Online, the ABC’s Drum Opinion, the Sydney Morning Herald, and beyond. He appears frequently on Australian television and radio and, of course, has a podcast of his own - The 9PM Edict.

This episode includes another short recollection from Fred Burton. Fred is the former deputy chief of counterterrorism at the Diplomatic Security Service and the author of the best-selling memoir GHOST: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent. His other works include Chasing Shadows: A Special Agent's Lifelong Hunt to Bring a Cold War Assassin to Justice and Under Fire: The Untold Story of the Attack in Benghazi.