back to article Australia admits to running offensive cyber-ops team

The Australian Government has today launched an information security strategy under which AU$230 million will be spent over four years to improve critical infrastructure defences through private and public sector information sharing, innovation security centres, and by bankrolling support for 5000 security tests for businesses …

  1. Ole Juul

    most important part

    He will lead a "cultural change" about how whole of government approaches security, and to better engage the media, Mr Turnbull said.

    The media needs to be engaged so people will know they're getting their money's worth and funding will continue. Experience in other countries shows that the rest will be ineffective. Please tell me I'm wrong.

    1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

      Vital Parts .... CHAOSystems App Placements with NEUKlearer HyperRadioProActive IT and AI@ITsWork*

      The media needs to be engaged so people will know they're getting their money's worth and funding will continue. Experience in other countries shows that the rest will be ineffective. Please tell me I'm wrong. …. Ole Juul

      Media, Ole Juul, needs to be engaged to spin hype and virtually realise novel future products for mass presentation and Maslowian self-actualisation.

      ’Tis the new way forward into the future and progress with quantum leads/ab fab fabless reads, nearly the same as the old way but fundamentally and radically different, with Clouds Hosting Advanced Operating Systems in Computers and Communication for Cyber Command and Control Centres …… Semi-Autonomous Nodes with Invisible Cells of XSSXXXXellence.

      And you are not wrong, other than in thinking that people will know they're getting their money's worth. Quite obviously, with the present state of nations being the evidence, is there massive catastrophic fraud afoot and moneys being clearly rooted and looted and routed obscurely elsewhere.

      * And does one have an effective choice in whatever shall be an Exotic Erotic Eastern Confection and/or Wild Wacky Western Delight ‽ .

    2. Mark 85

      Re: most important part

      The media part is indeed about spin and perhaps controlling it to hide what they're actually doing. Go back and re-parse the 3rd and 4th paragraphs. Engagement of the media is all about control and keeping the embarrassing bits out of the headlines.

      1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

        Re: most important part @Mark 85 ...... The Sweet Justice in Harsh Revenge

        Engagement of the media is all about control and keeping the embarrassing bits out of the headlines. ..... Mark 85

        Hmmm?

        It is worth considering it is more the disengagement of media that controls and/or attempts to control embarrassing headlining bits and novel qubits unsuccessfully in times and spaces where internetworking intelligence and information is used for a greater good rather than abused and misused for personal treasure/pleasure ..... although it is surely true that abuse and misuse of such internetworking intelligence and information is never ever clever and thus both moronic and oxymoronic and really stupid .... and ultimately inevitably self-destructive.

        And we are in those times and spaces nowadays.

    3. Tail Up

      Re: most important part

      ""Experience in other countries shows that the rest will be ineffective" -

      it matters who gives'em advertising. It's not about selling anything to anybody... usually they advertise shi* that noone would buy without rising it to the RGB top))

  2. Oengus

    So that is where they hide the budget for their Mass Surveillance program. "We gather all of this intelligence to be able to better protect you from the bad people (terrorists, paedophiles, criminals)" I can already forsee being touted as the justification.

  3. Winkypop Silver badge
    Facepalm

    All he's got

    Malcolm is a truly hollow man.

    All he really has going for him is the 'perception' in the media that he is some kind of Internet guru-master-jedi.

  4. SecurityPiglet

    This isn't news...

    The ASD's motto is "Reveal Their Secrets - Protect Their Own". What did people think they used - harsh language?

  5. Magani
    Big Brother

    "...through private and public sector information sharing..."

    I take this to mean open slather on anyone who collects data from Fred Public (Tweetter, FarceBork, MickeySoft, Giggle, etc) and can be coerced into giving it to the gummint.

    George Orwell would be pleased.

    1. GrumpyOldBloke

      Only through agreed legal frameworks.

    2. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

      "George Orwell would be pleased."

      No, he bloody wouldn't. I guess he'd rather be disappointed that so very few who heard* of '1984' actually got the message.

      *Sad but true: "heard of it" > actually read it > understood it

      1. P. Lee
        Unhappy

        re: he'd rather be disappointed that so very few who heard* of '1984' actually got the message.

        They heard it, got the message... and thought, "Fantastic!"

        1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

          Re: re: he'd rather be disappointed that so very few who heard* of '1984' actually got the message.

          Yes, and that was so naive of them, isn't it, P. Lee, now that IT has minds and mines of its own to harvest and develop further beyond terrestrial command and control of/for power and energy.

  6. DocJames
    Facepalm

    Wrong wrong wrong (probably)

    "Acknowledging this offensive capability adds a level of deterrence, it adds to our credibility as we promote norms of good behaviour on the international stage"

    Like the US ballistic missiles in the 60s deterred the Soviets? Because we now know that the reason the Soviet Union built so many was out of fear of the US having more, which thus made the world A Very Dangerous Place.

    I think he's making a false claim; it will encourage others to level up and gain these capabilities too. Obviously some states will already have high level abilities (hello China!) but this will influence the rest of the world - Pakistan for example might think that this is a Good Idea, as might much of Europe and South America. I don't see that this adds to long term safety.

    I might be wrong though; maybe if everyone can attack then we will never have to suffer the horror of the headline "Its Cyberwar!!!". Debate and opinions welcomed (except regarding the asptrophe; that's deliberate).

    1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

      Re: Wrong wrong wrong (probably) .... And the new right and right write.

      DocJames, Hi,

      IT's Cyberwar, with all prisoners and puppet soldiers to anonymous warriors and muppet regimes/right dodgy left of centre SCADA Admin Systems.

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