Government, industry and the community face constant threat from cyber criminals, organised crime groups, online vandals, trusted insiders, advanced persistent threat groups and foreign governments.
In recent years cyber attackers around the world have disrupted the operation of critical infrastructure and essential services, exposed vast amounts of sensitive and personal information, and caused significant financial losses and emotional harm across communities.
Victorian Government IT networks face constant threat of cyber-attack. Private companies face similar challenges, with malicious cyber attackers constantly threatening to disrupt vital systems and services.
Australians report a new cyber-attack to the Australian Cyber Security Centre every 10 minutes. One-in-four of these reports involves Victorians who have fallen victim to malicious cyber activity, such as online scams and fraud.
The financial, emotional and service delivery impacts of malicious cyber activity are significant. Industry estimates suggest the cost of cybercrime to the Australian economy is $29 billion annually.
Responding to this challenge requires strong collaboration across government, industry and the community. We all have a shared responsibility to help create a cyber safe Victoria.
The Victorian Government is continually enhancing the protection of its IT systems to support safe and reliable delivery of services. From people’s medical records, to sensitive police data, sensitive and personal information held by government needs to be protected against misuse and inappropriate access. Services delivered either online or in the physical world, from water monitoring to traffic lights, need to be resilient to cyber-attacks. And digital communications such as official websites and emails from government must be trustworthy and free from manipulation.
The Victorian Government must play a key role in supporting industry and community groups to reduce their cyber risk. This will require a comprehensive understanding of current and future cyber risks affecting Victoria. These risks will be addressed via evidence-based strategies that address the likelihood and impact of cyber risks to Victorians. Police will be supported to prevent, detect, disrupt and prosecute cybercrime and other online offending (including technology-enabled crime), by having access to the right powers and capabilities.
Central to our success in creating a cyber safe Victoria will be the cultivation of local cyber expertise and tools. We will need a vibrant cyber economy that provides internationally recognised training and development programs, with established pathways into cyber employment. This will foster the growth of our local cyber capability, support jobs for Victorians and generate economic growth throughout Victoria.
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