NCJ Number
190409
Journal
Jane's Intelligence Review Volume: 13 Issue: 9 Dated: September 2001 Pages: 52-53
Editor(s)
Christopher C. Aaron
Date Published
September 2001
Length
2 pages
Annotation
This article examined how Australia is attempting to protect its growing cyber-economy through a national Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) policy.
Abstract
Australia is known as one of the world’s leading players when it comes to Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) and Information Assurance (IA) policy development. This is the first of a series of reviews of Australia’s national CIP policies in the protection of its growing cyber-economy. The National Officer for the Information Economy (NOIE) was given the key role in coordinating e-security activities across the Commonwealth of Australia, as well as the Attorney General’s Department (which retained primary CIP responsibility), the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO), and the Defense Signals Directorate (DSD). Two central coordination bodies were established to oversee the government’s CIP efforts, the E-Security Coordination Group (ESCG) and the Critical Infrastructure Protection Group (CIPG). The Australian government was seen as having one of the most comprehensive legislative structures in regards to e-business and e-commerce, covering issues in privacy and intellectual property rights in cyberspace. Recently, Australia began to implement new laws to address shortcomings in existing legislation against computer offenses. The government introduced new computer crime legislation that included key offenses consistent with the draft Council of Europe Cyber-crime Convention. The proposed offenses covered the unauthorized use of a computer with the intent to commit a serious offense. Also, legislation targeted those who possess or trade in programs and technology designed to hack into other people’s computer systems, proposed to enhance law enforcement powers in regards to search and seizure of electronically stored data, and strengthened business and community confidence in new technologies ensuring penalization for criminal misuse of technologies.