Vic to spend $32m on cyber security, data analytics

The Victorian government has earmarked more than $30 million to drive cyber security improvements across the public sector and address policy concerns with data analytics.

The funding, drawn from the 2018-19 state budget, will be provided to the Department of Premier and Cabinet over four years.

It includes $17.6 million for the state’s first whole-of-government cyber security strategy, which seeks to uplift the government’s cyber security capability through a three-year rolling program of work.

“In the past, individual agencies set their own security measures,” the state government said in a statement.

“This funding will ensure we have the strong cyber security capabilities we need to protect the delivery of public services across the whole of the government.”

The investment follows the October 2017 appointment of former ANZ Bank information and technology risk senior manager John O’Driscoll as the state’s first whole-of-government chief information security officer (CISO).

The funding will also contribute to “attracting, developing and retaining skilled cyber security public sector workers”.

DPC has also been afforded $14 million over two years to continue its dedicated data analytics unit - known as the Victoria Centre for Data Insights - and its Behavioural Insights Unit.

Both are used to “develop public sector capability to address policy problems by investing in evidence-based data analytics”.

More IT projects

Elsewhere in the budget, the Department of Health and Human Services will receive $12 million during 2018-19 to refresh its clinical technology.

“The technical infrastructure required to support and deliver patient-related services such as diagnostic imaging, patient management systems and electronic medical records will be upgraded,” budget papers state.

“This will improve operational stability of the delivery of information related to patient, diagnostics and other clinical services to the point-of-care.

This comes in addition to the $124 million allocated to the rollout of e-health records at three major Melbourne hospitals that was announced ahead of the budget.

The Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources (DEDJTR) will receive $11 million in further funding to remove mobile blackspots and improve mobile coverage in regional Victoria over the next four years.

Public Transport Victoria - which is part of the DEDJTR - will receive $10.5 million in 2018-19 to renew and upgrade several of its intelligent traffic system assets to “to ensure efficient and safe management of Victoria’s arterial road and freeway network”.

Other measures funded in the budget for 2018-19 include:

• $24.2 million for Victoria Police to “tackle organised crime syndicates trafficking drugs and firearms on the dark web, online child exploitation, gathering and recording evidence through digital forensic services, conducting covert operations, and gathering evidence”.
• $14.7 million for the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning to implement the third stage of its smart planning in councils initiative, which includes the creation of a planning dashboard.
• $2.8 million for the DEDJTR to begin planning a new tram automatic vehicle monitoring system to “manage and monitoring metropolitan tram service operations” and “provide real-time information on tram services”.
• $2.6 million for the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner to improve its “effectiveness and responsiveness” over four years, including “redeveloping business processes … and providing FOI and privacy education and training”.
• $1 million for Land Use Victoria to introduce a new online portal that “give[s] communities better access to information on public land”.
• $300,000 in 2018-19 to fund a business case for the Wangaratta Digital Hub - a joint project by GOTAFE, Galen College and La Trobe University to create IT facilities for education providers.