Cyber Maturity in the Asia Pacific Region 2017

The Cyber Maturity in the Asia–Pacific Region report is the flagship annual publication of the ASPI International Cyber Policy Centre.

This report assesses the national approach of Asia–Pacific countries to the challenges and opportunities of cyberspace, taking a holistic approach that assesses governance and legislation, law enforcement, military capacity and policy involvement, and business and social engagement in cyber policy and security issues.

The 2017 report is the fourth annual cyber maturity report. It covers 25 countries and includes assessment of Taiwan and Vanuatu for the first time.

The United States continues its leadership of the country rankings and although the transition to the Trump administration caused a pause while cyber policy was reviewed, the US military is recognising the importance of cyber capability and elevating US Cyber Command to a unified combatant command to give it increased independence and broader authorities.

Australia has moved up in our rankings from fourth to equal second on the back of continued investment in governance reform and implementation of the 2016 Cyber Security Strategy. Australia’s first International Cyber Engagement Strategy was released and the 2017 Independent Intelligence review made a number of recommendations that strengthen Australia’s cyber security posture – this includes broadening the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s (ACSC) mandate as a national cyber security authority and clarifying ministerial responsibility for cyber security and the ACSC,.

Japan (equal second with Australia), Singapore, and South Korea round out a very close top five countries. All countries in this leading group have improved their overall cyber maturity although very tight margins have seen some change in rankings: Australian and Japan moving up to equal second and Singapore and South Korea dropping to fourth and fifth.

Taiwan and Vanuatu both made strong initial entries into the Cyber Maturity Report. Taiwan ranked ninth, just behind China, hampered by difficulties with international engagement, while Vanuatu came seventeenth, best of the Pacific islands.

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Preventing and countering violent extremism in Africa: mining and Australia’s interests

Australia has commercial and strategic interests in helping to prevent and counter violent extremism in Africa. Australian mining companies are engaged across the continent in Mali, Burkina Faso, Kenya and many other countries where there have been high-profile terrorist attacks and kidnappings of foreign nationals, including Australians. Those threats already affect the way Australian mining companies approach their operations on the continent. With rising risks to Australian nationals, businesses and foreign investment through the mining industry, violent extremism in Africa is a direct threat to Australian national interests.

Drawing on the findings of a newly published in-depth report, Preventing and countering violent extremism in Africa: The role of the mining sector, this paper examines how the Australian mining sector should step up efforts aimed at preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) in Africa. While the report notes that mining projects present risks that can exacerbate some of the drivers of violent extremism, it also highlights the potential to leverage the work of mining projects as a bulwark against violent extremism.

This paper shows that there’s scope for further cooperation and engagement with the Australian Government in the mining sector. The potential of the private sector in P/CVE remains underexplored. Consequently, the mining sector has an opportunity to lead by example in this field.

Preventing and countering violent extremism in Africa: the role of the mining sector

Terrorism and violent extremism remain significant threats to international peace and security. Although few countries have been immune, Africa has been particularly susceptible. Weak institutions, porous borders, inadequately trained or ill-equipped security forces, historical grievances and a lack of economic opportunities have created conditions for extremist ideologies to grow and persist in parts of the continent.

“The global effort to prevent violent extremism can’t succeed without the private sector. This report explains why, and how to incorporate this essential partner.”

Dr Khalid Koser MBE
Executive Direct
Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF)

To date, most counterterrorism efforts have been security and intelligence led, with an emphasis on military and kinetic strategies to ‘defeat’ terrorism. Over the past decade in particular, global efforts have also focused on strategies for preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE), particularly on the role of international institutions, governments, regional organisations and communities. While several international frameworks for counterterrorism, for example the UN Secretary-General’s Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism, have recognised the important role of the private sector in prevention measures, there’s been little research and analysis exploring the specificity and mechanisms of private sector involvement. This report by ASPI, in cooperation with Hedayah, uses a case study of the mining sector in Africa to examine how the private sector does and can engage in P/CVE efforts.

This report explores the correlation between the drivers of violent extremism and the different activities undertaken throughout a mining project’s life cycle in order to identify potential risks and opportunities. It examines the role of the mining sector in actions to address violent extremism, identifying preliminary lessons and best practices from the research. Finally, it provides recommendations for mining companies, the industry, governments and communities on approaches to engage mining companies in P/CVE efforts.

The report is accompanied by a second paper that draws on the findings and examines how the Australian mining sector should step up efforts aimed at preventing and countering violent extremism in Africa. See Preventing and countering violent extremism in Africa: Mining and Australia’s interests.

Australia’s management of strategic risk in the new era.

Australia’s strategic outlook is deteriorating and, for the first time since World War II, we face an increased prospect of threat from a major power.

This means that a major change in Australia’s approach to the management of strategic risk is needed.

People Smugglers Globally 2017

The global drivers for the irregular movement of people, from human security to economics, are growing, not dissipating.

In 2016, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees reported that there were 65.6 million ‘forcibly displaced people worldwide’, 22.5 million refugees and 10 million stateless people.

Globally, there are some 767 million people living below the poverty line. In Africa alone, there are some 200 million people ‘aged between 15–24 and this will likely double by 2045’. While these figures are startling, the fact that in 2016 only 189,300 refugees were resettled highlights the scale of the likely demand for irregular migration.

Much has been said and published on irregular migration from the perspective of the migrant. In the process, it has become politically expedient to homogenise perceptions of people smugglers.

This new ASPI report focuses on people-smuggling syndicates globally.

The report provides a concise analysis of the various people-smuggling syndicates operating in the globe’s people smuggling hot-spots. This authoritative report provides a concise analysis of each people smuggling hot-spot, with accompanying policy recommendations for interventions.

Elections at the UN: Australia’s approach

Australia is expected to be elected to the UN Human Rights Council for the first time on Monday 16 October in New York.

It’s a significant candidacy—we have the opportunity to make a valuable contribution to the work of the pre-eminent inter-governmental body overseeing the protection and promotion of global human rights and, in doing so, also promote our own interests and build influence as a global player.

The candidacy presents a timely opportunity to consider the value of serving on UN inter-governmental bodies and Australia’s rationale and approach in putting itself forward as a candidate on a regular basis.

This new ASPI paper by Sally Weston examines the electoral process to serve on UN organs and bodies.

It explores the opportunities for representation and what it often takes to ensure that candidacies are successful in an inherently competitive field.

It also examines the benefits of Australian representation in UN bodies and organs and provides recommendations for Australia to sustain its UN engagement by strategically presenting candidacies to the UN membership.

The 2017 independent review of intelligence: Views from The Strategist

Over the past 40 years, Australian governments have periodically commissioned reviews of the Australian intelligence community (AIC). The first such inquiry—the Hope Royal Commission of 1974—was commissioned by the Whitlam government as a way of shedding light on what had hitherto been a shadowy group of little-known and little-understood government agencies. It was also the beginning of a journey that would eventually bring the AIC more into public view and onto a firm legislative footing. The second Hope Royal Commission, in 1983, was partly a response to some dramatic external events, in the forms of the Coomb–Ivanov affair and a poorly judged Australian Secret Intelligence Service training exercise that went badly wrong. But it was also a continuation of the process begun by the previous commission.

The challenge of energy resilience in Australia: Strategic options for continuity of supply

The intent of this report is to examine approaches to ensuring Australia’s energy sources are resilient.

It discusses Australia’s energy continuity needs from a complex system-of-systems perspective and details several systemic vulnerabilities that contribute to potential gaps in the resilience of our energy supply.

The report provides options for addressing the surety of energy supply, reforming energy supply through the electricity grid, addressing evolving transport energy demand, and future-proofing our communities.

Steps to fulfilling these strategic options are examined in several recommendations addressing whole-of-government and whole-of-nation gaps in energy policy.

Big data in national security

ASPI is releasing two research publications on the uses and limitations of big data in national security.

The first report, ‘Big Data in national security’, provides a high-level analysis of how big data capabilities can be used and managed by Australia’s national security community.

The second product, ‘Big Data in National Security – Online Resource’, is a background paper which provides policy makers and the public with a detailed analysis of the key concepts, trends, and challenges of big data in national security.

Big data requires big governance…

Hear Dr John Coyne discussing the report with author Michael Chi;

Watch the publication launch…

The research was conducted with the support and sponsorship of DXC Technology, formerly CSC Australia.

Bid Data in National Security online resources

Coordination of federal, state and local disaster management arrangements in Australia: Lessons from the UK and the US

This document discusses the gaps in Australia’s emergency management legislation and the coordination of federal, state and local disaster management arrangements in Australia.

It analyses key legislation from the UK and US jurisdictions and reveals important lessons that could be adopted in Australia.