The Victorian Government has unveiled its new Cyber Strategy Mission Delivery Plan for 2022-23, which aims to address the increasing threat of cyber-attacks and build a resilient cyber security posture across the state.
The plan, released by the state government late last week will prioritise mitigating risks of a cyber security attack on government infrastructure and services.
At the heart of the plan is a pipeline to build cyber talent for the industry and the Victorian public service (VPS), thereby strengthening cyber career pathways in partnership with education providers and the industry.
The mission delivery plan is in line with the Victorian government’s $50 million cyber security strategy which was launched in 2021.
Priority initiatives
The plan includes a range of priority initiatives, such as building a whole of Victorian government cyber operating model to improve cyber risk management across the VPS.
A VPS cyber hubs model will improve cyber governance, technology, resource management and interoperability, supported by a central Victorian government cyber defence centre.
To support the growth of Victoria's cyber industry, the plan will also aim to accelerate the growth of Victoria's cyber industry by strengthening the state's reputation as the cyber capital of Australia and providing procurement, export and investment opportunities.
It aims to establish a clear, trusted voice to advise the community on cyber risk and prevention strategies and enhance Victoria's preparedness for cyber security emergencies and other state-significant cyber events to minimise any potential adverse impacts on the community.
Increasing threats
The cyber threat environment in Australia continues to grow in scale and complexity.
Three years ago, the Australian Cyber Security Centre published compelling data that revealed a new cyber-attack was reported every ten minutes in the country.
As of 2022, the time between these attacks has decreased to 7 minutes, and nearly one in four of them is causing harm to individuals in Victoria.