Govt, industry invest $140m for cybersecurity CRC

The government is set to invest $50 million into an “industry-led” cooperative research centre with a focus on cybersecurity.

Craig Laundy, Assistant minister for industry, innovation and science, said the government’s investment would be split over seven years.

Industry participants in the CRC will separately chip in $89.8 million in cash and in-kind contributions.

The government did not provide much detail on what the CRC would be working on.

“The cybersecurity CRC will deliver solutions to increase the security of critical infrastructure and that benefit businesses and their customers,” Laundy said in a statement.

“These include frameworks, products and approaches that will service existing and future ICT enterprises across a broad range of platforms and operating systems.”

The government has spent the past year trying to scale up Australia’s capability in various infosec domains.

It is spending $230 million over four years on a national cybersecurity strategy, although it made glacial progress on implementing it in the first year.

The government has set up an Australian Cyber Security Centre as a central body housing 260 cyber security experts from across ASIO, Defence, the AFP, the Attorney-General's Department, and the Australian Crime Commission.

In June, it also created a new military unit tasked with both defending the country's critical infrastructure against cyber attacks and launching offensive cyber strikes on foreign actors.