The agreement, according to a statement by the Australian Attorney General’s Office, provides for enhanced situational awareness and information sharing on operational cyber security issues between and among national cyber incident response teams; exchanging cyber security best practices for information technology and industrial control systems; and creating opportunities for training and education and expanded cooperation in cyber exercises.
“Countries everywhere are increasingly reliant on critical infrastructure such as telecommunications, which enables ‘online’ activities that contribute to global commerce and trade and play an increasingly important role in national security. Both Australia and United States recognize the considerable benefits delivered by these activities, but also the challenges of managing cybersecurity and resilience to counter malicious activity”, commented Australian Attorney General Nicola Roxon.
The next steps will be a bilateral meeting between US and Australian officials to develop a prioritized work program for annual cyber security cooperation to review progress and identify new challenges.
Roxon said that this week’s agreement follows four other agreements signed between the US and Australian governments earlier in the month that will expand intelligence sharing to combat transnational crime, including terrorism, and to make travel between Australia and the US easier.