Charles Sturt University submission: Strengthening Australia’s cybersecurity regulations and incentives, Department of Home Affairs

As the Strengthening Australia’s Cyber Security discussion paper acknowledges, cyber security is becoming an increasingly important issue for the Australian community and there is a need to take further steps to enhance it. This need is highlighted by the regular examples of cybersecurity breaches occurring.
In addressing the first consultation question, we believe there are four key factors preventing the adoption of cyber security best practice in Australia:
• first, the complexity of information and communication technologies and the fact that law and policy makers may not fully appreciate the implications of new technologies, including the associated data security risks;
• second, the pace at which the field is moving, and the time required for government to coordinate and implement effective responses, so that by the time measures are implemented, they may be obsolete and ineffective;
• third the internationalisation of the technology sector and the way the internet allows companies (and bad actors) to operate internationally across legal borders and regulatory regimes, compounded in some cases by their size and dominance in the market;
• and fourth (and related to the first three factors) the so-called ‘human factor’, e.g. lack of awareness of cyber threats, reluctance to comply with cybersecurity measures.