National E-Security Awareness Week 'Over the Horizon' Forum

Friday, 12 June 2009

Thank you and good morning everyone.

It seems a long time ago that I was at Melbourne Docklands launching National E-Security Awareness Week.

In fact, it was seven days ago.

It is now my pleasure to be here this morning to welcome you all to what is the final event of E-Security Awareness Week for this year.

The fact that we have so many stakeholders here today is testament to the understanding and enthusiasm there is for working together to improve Australia's e-security.

You will be aware that the messages we have promoted to consumers and business this week have been simple.

In fact, the key message could not be simpler – being more secure online can be as easy as strengthening your passwords.

But the simplicity of the message should not disguise the seriousness of the e-security challenge.

Of course, no-one wants to lose their bank details or personal information to criminals and the Government is motivated to foster confidence online.

However, there is a national security aspect to this as well.

The millions of consumer and businesses computers connected online constitute a real and significant massed access point to our national critical infrastructure.

It is important that we ensure those users are aware of the need to be as secure as possible – for their own good and for the good of the vital services and infrastructure that rely on broadband.

This is of increased importance as we work to rollout the foundations for Australia's digital future.

Those of you here today are well aware of the potential of high-speed broadband to:

• support vital services,
• to revolutionise education and health,
• to drive energy efficiency gains,
• to secure infrastructure investments, and
• to invigorate regional economies.

The Rudd Government has recognised these opportunities and is acting now to ensure that Australia is in the best position to capitalise.

The National Broadband Network will be the single largest nation-building infrastructure project in Australian history.

It will drive competition by providing Australia's first truly national wholesale-only network.

There will be new opportunities for innovators to create applications and services to meet emerging demands.

Businesses will be able improve they way they deliver their products.

The network will provide opportunities for Australians to access information and vital social services from their homes.

It will provide opportunities for greater returns on investment through the rollout of smart infrastructure.

Indeed, the National Broadband Network will change the way we address the delivery of critical services and utilities.

In the health and aged care sector, for example, we can expect considerable economic and social gains thanks to tele-health and in-home care innovations.

Additionally, smart electricity grids supported by broadband promise major efficiency gains thanks to improved control over consumption and distribution.

These are significant opportunities that depend on reliable, affordable high-speed broadband.

Clearly, the security of our networks must also be of the highest priority.

This will not only underpin the successful operation of these services but also the general confidence of businesses and citizens in the online environment.

Confidence is a key factor in the take-up of new services and will be essential to ensure that Australia reaps the full benefits of the digital economy.

For these reasons, consideration of critical infrastructure protection, e-security and law enforcement objectives is high on the Government's agenda as we prepare for our digital future.

Security will be a key consideration as we undertake implementation planning and rollout the National Broadband Network.

Our activities this week have clearly reflected the growing importance of broadband throughout the community and at all levels of the economy.

Many of you here today have been valuable partners in our efforts and I thank you all very much for your participation.

The functions and campaigns you have undertaken across the country are a great value to our common goal to ensure people are aware of how to become more e-secure.

While promoting the simple things people can do, National E-Security Awareness Week has also included some key events to ensure we are approaching these issues from as many points as possible.

Last Friday I launched E-Security Education Modules for Australian primary and secondary school students.

These have already been requested by more than 200 schools and will go a long way to ensuring young people understand how they can contribute to e-security.

On Wednesday, I met with the Internet Service Provider industry to start a consultation on an industry Code of Practice for e-security.

This very positive move will see ISPs implement a consistent approach for the types of e-security information and solutions they offer their customers.

In addition, ISPs will tap into data sources to identify and correct network computer issues and to help users to address problems.

I also met with executives from some of Australia's largest companies to discuss the types of challenges they face to ensure their corporate networks are as secure as possible.

I'm pleased to say that Australian business has a growing understanding of e-security issues and their impact on critical infrastructure.

There is a keen awareness that e-security is a shared responsibility, and that government, businesses and individuals all have an important role to play in ensuring Australia has a robust e-security environment.

This, of course, is the overriding theme for National E-Security Awareness Week and one being clearly recognised by the wide range of stakeholders we have in the room today.

This Forum is an ideal opportunity for us all to look explore our looming e-security landscape and collectively develop ways to address the challenges.

We need to address, for example, what messages we might be providing to users in two years time.

Of course, to explore this effectively, we'll need to look at how we can continue to keep up to date with emerging e-security threats.

We need to understand what is happening on an international scale and how it will impact Australia.

We need to keep abreast of industry developments and the kind of activities each of us are individually undertaking in this area.

At this event last year we identified a number of important e-security issues for consideration.

These were fed into the 2008 E-Security Review.

One very important issue was the need for the Government to increase its engagement with ISPs to help improve the e-security of Australian internet users.

Indeed, this was one of the key recommendations of the E-Security Review, announced by myself and the Attorney-General in late 2008 and, as I have mentioned, ISPs are now working to develop a Code of Practice.

Additionally, ideas from last year's forum have also fed into the Government's new E-Security Education Modules.

This forum will provide Government, industry and consumer stakeholders with an opportunity to collaboratively identify emerging e-security trends and issues relevant today.

Discussions will cover a whole range of topics.

These include:

• convergence;
• cloud computing;
• social networking;
• consumer issues; and
• the borderless nature of internet.

The discussions will help us to chart our response for National E-Security Awareness Week in 2010 and other activities we undertake in the year ahead.

They will also help us to design our appropriate collective response to e-security issues as we look further into the future.

These discussions and our collaborative responses will be vital to ensure Australia's continued e-security and confidence in the digital economy.

This is a key priority for the Government as we work to implement our future national digital infrastructure platform – the National Broadband Network.

Once again, thank you most sincerely to all of the valued partners who have contributed to the success of National E-Security Awareness Week.

The efforts you make in developing and distributing the key messages to consumers and businesses are a great benefit to us all.

I would also like to thank Rob Forsyth, who is highly-regarded in the e-security sector for his facilitation at the forum today.

Thank you once again for participating in the 2009 Over the Horizon Forum.

I look forward to seeing the valuable insight and ideas that I am sure will be produced.

Thank you.