All Posts

Australia should harness the capability provided by civilians and develop volunteer cyber forces as part of a whole-of-society approach to national defence and cyber resilience. In addition to cybersecurity functions, volunteer cyber forces may be eYectively utilised in relation to Open Source Intelligence (OSINT), information and cognitive conflict, as well as espionage and proactive cyber activities.

n 2019 and 2020, sixteen Australian and international researchers looked closely at the subject of civil defence from the perspective of  cyber emergencies in Australia, Europe, Israel, Canada and the US.

“The single most important characteristic of Australian cyber diplomacy has been the contrast between the professionalism of the… officials… and their relative lack of enthusiasm for the full potential of the globalised information society.” 

"Australia and India could establish a standing mechanism for bilateral impact assessment of critical technologies that could become the hub or model for a wider regional initiative".

Here is a presentation from 2018 marking the foundation of the Social Cyber Group and its affiliated Social Cyber Institute in Australia. Both are spin-offs from UNSW Canberra. The key message was this: “Cyber security is now a social science.”

All security outcomes in cyberspace are determined by individual people, whose behaviour is shaped by their social setting, either organisational or cultural. Yet there has been little evidence globally of the necessary adjustment of policy or practice that gives due weight to the social science dimensions. There is a sharp imbalance between investments in technology for security in cyber space as against social science at almost every level

"Cyber espionage is really a normal fact of life but the growth and intensity of China's cybersecurity industry, including its hacking, has taken the world by surprise" ...

"Bilateral technology assessments between emerging strategic partners like Australia and India can help bridge geopolitical divides while advancing shared interests in tech governance" (Emphasizes the diplomatic value of joint assessments) "Critical technology cooperation must involve granular analysis of risks to peace/stability, such as quantum sensing applications in military radar systems"(Highlights need for technical specificity in assessments) "Trade wars are increas

The idea of “Technology Impact Assessment (TIA) of critical technologies” might usefully become more prominent in the foreign policy and science diplomacy of Australia and India.