Agenda for change – 2019

In 2018, many commentators pronounced the rules-based global order to be out for the count. This presents serious challenges for a country such as Australia, which has been an active contributor and clear beneficiary of that order. The government that we elect in 2019’s federal election will be faced with difficult strategic policy choices unlike any we’ve confronted in the past 50 years.

This volume contains 30 short essays that cover a vast range of subjects, from the big geostrategic challenges of our times, through to defence strategy; border, cyber and human security; and key emergent technologies.

The essays provide busy policymakers with policy recommendations to navigate this new world, including proposals that ‘break the rules’ of traditional policy settings. Each of the essays is easily readable in one sitting—but their insightful and ambitious policy recommendations may take a little longer to digest.

Previous Agenda for change publications are also available here: 2016 and 2013.

Launch Event

Building a Safer Internet – Advocate, Validate, Educate

5 February is Safer Internet Day, a global initiative in some 140 countries to raise awareness of emerging online issues. At ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre we are pleased to support this initiative.

A safer internet is at the core of what we do. We engage with international and national media on unfolding incidents, events and developments. We regularly organise public events on pressing issues in the online environment that shape strategic policy direction. And we have become very active in the area of capacity-building and exercises: in the Asia-Pacific region and in Australia.

On the occasion of Safer Internet Day 2019, ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre is introducing a 3-year project that looks at improving the security of the Australian internet through the adoption of international security standards. These standards are technical means to ensure a secure exchange of information over the Internet. Adoption is voluntary and non-binding and is reliant on goodwill and incentives.

“The Internet Society (ISOC) promotes an open, globally-connected, secure and trustworthy Internet. The use of open standards developed by open processes such as that of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the premier Internet standards body, plays an important role in achieving this. We welcome initiatives such as these which take a multi-stakeholder approach and aim to strengthen everyday users’ ability to be safe and secure online”, said Rajnesh Singh, Chief, Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau at the Internet Society.

With support from auDA, the policy authority and self-regulatory body for the .au domain space, the International Cyber Policy Centre will develop a public test tool. This tool will validate websites, email accounts and connections against standards that are considered international good practice.

Cameron Boardman, CEO of auDA said: “We are really excited about this cooperation with ASPI. It allows us to build bridges between strategic policy makers, businesses and end-users, and our stakeholders – domain name registrars and operators in the IT industry”.

This initiative draws on examples that International Cyber Policy Centre experts have observed elsewhere and from the Centre’s membership of the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise.

“This initiative by ASPI is a great example of expertise and experience being shared across the global community. The GFCE Internet Infrastructure Initiative aims to share global good practices making best use of state-of-the-art global open internet standards, with support from the Internet.nl portal”, says Maarten Botterman, GFCE project leader.

A safe internet is a community-wide and multi-stakeholder effort. Whether its government, industry, the tech community, civil society or the user-consumer, we all have our own rights and duties. This project will enhance opportunities for proper due diligence by users and consumers, small businesses as well as internet service providers.

Stakeholder consultations meetings are scheduled for February and March 2019; as follows:

MELBOURNE CONSULTATION
Date: Friday 22nd February 2019
Time: 11:00 hrs – 13:00 hrs
Venue: Joint Cyber Security Centre
Level 32, 600 Bourke Street, Melbourne

CANBERRA CONSULTATION
Date: Friday March 1st 2019
Time: 11.00hrs – 13.00hrs
Venue: ASPI Offices
40 Macquarie St, Barton
ACT 2600

SYDNEY CONSULTATION
Date: Monday 4th March 2019
Time: 10:00 hrs – 12:30 hrs
Venue: Joint Cyber Security Centre
Level 25, Tower 2, Darling Park
201 Sussex Street, Sydney

If you would like to participate in building a safer internet, please contact ASPI here.

Online Influence and Hostile Narratives in Eastern Asia – Report

ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre wrote a report for the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence that examined online influence and hostile narratives in Asia.

Eastern Asia — which we define as including East and Southeast Asia — is a region of increasing geopolitical competition with many racial, cultural and societal fractures. With the rapid expansion of inexpensive internet access, these fractures and tensions mean that many states in the region are both vulnerable to, and a source of, hostile information activities that are being used to achieve strategic goals both inside and outside the region.

This report documents examples of hostile information activities that have originated in Eastern Asia and have been targeted in the following countries:

  • Taiwan
  • The Hong Kong-based protest movement
  • West Papua
  • The Philippines

Because these activities often target social media, they have been difficult for law enforcement and national security organizations to police. Across the globe, countries are pursuing different methods of tackling the spread of hostile information activities with differing degrees of success. These approaches can range from law enforcement, temporary internet shutdowns, and attempts to legislate against ‘fake news’ or disinformation, through to wider societal media literacy initiatives.

Read this report, authored by ASPI International Cyber Policy Centre researcher Hannah Smith, here.

Huawei and Australia’s 5G Network

Over the course of 2018, ASPI staff and writers for The Strategist participated in a dynamic public debate about the participation of Chinese telecommunications equipment manufacturer Huawei in Australia’s 5G network.

Australia’s 5G network is critical national infrastructure and this was one of the most important policy decisions the government had to make this year.

ASPI felt it was vital to stimulate and lead a frank and robust public discussion, in Australia and throughout the wider region, which analysed and debated the national security, cybersecurity and international implications of Huawei’s involvement in this infrastructure.

In this report, in chronological order, you’ll read a range of views written up in The Strategist, The Australian and The Financial Times.

These articles tackle a variety of issues surrounding the decision, including the cybersecurity dimension, the broader Australia–China relationship, other states’ experiences with Huawei, the Chinese Government’s approach to cyber espionage and intellectual property theft and, importantly, the Chinese party-state’s view of state security and intelligence work.

When it comes to important national security, cybersecurity and critical infrastructure decisions, ASPI will continue to stimulate Australian public discourse and fill gaps in global debates.

We also encourage the Australian Government to take a more forward-leaning approach to its participation in public discourse so that the public and key stakeholders are as informed as possible when hard and complicated policy decisions like this need to be made.

Sydney Recommendations – Practical Futures for Cyber Confidence Building in the ASEAN region

In the lead-up to the ASEAN–Australia Special Summit, ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre launched an initiative with partners across the region to develop the Sydney
Recommendations on Practical Futures for Cyber Confidence Building in the ASEAN region.

These recommendations build on the extensive work undertaken by the think-tank community in the region starting in the early 2010s.

Cybersecurity and electoral integrity

Address on Cyber Security and threats to Australian Elections given by Tom Uren at the Australian Parliament House research group meeting. 

Video here: https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/Vis/vis1819/Cybersecurity .

Offensive Cyber report makes waves

The new report by the International Cyber Policy Centre, Australia’s Offensive Cyber Capability, has caught the imagination of the Australian cyber community and is being widely reported and commented on.

Some of the media coverage is listed here;

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/boost-australia-s-cyber-capability-report

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/defence/australias-worldclass-cyber-warriors-take-the-fight-to-islamic-state/news-story/1c4d7c17c3cbc7435ad316077974ec59

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/australia-urged-to-invest-more-to-counter-cyberattacks

https://securitybrief.com.au/story/aspi-demystifies-australias-offensive-cyber-capabilities/

https://ia.acs.org.au/article/2018/clarity-for-australia-s-cyber-capabilities.html

https://overcast.fm/+lLFD160E

https://www.zdnet.com/article/cyber-dam-busters-could-give-australias-military-an-asymmetric-edge/

https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/australias-offensive-cyber-capability/

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/public-service/cyber-strength-needs-better-recruitment-lower-classifications-aspi-20180409-p4z8l4.html

ASPI Cyber Masterclass ‘In Conversation: The future of cyber and emerging technologies’

Media are invited to attend a special event featuring former US top cyber adviser Chris Painter hosted by ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre (ICPC) on the future of cyberspace and emerging technologies. Question our panel on some of the world’s pressing global issues including the impact of emerging tech on national security, cyber threats to our election process, the changing nature of cyber-conflict and the rise of censorship and strict information control in the Asia-Pacific.

Panel:

• Chris Painter, former US State Department Coordinator for Cyber Issues and White House Senior Director for Cybersecurity Policy;
• Dr Tobias Feakin, Australian Ambassador for Cyber Affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
• Professor Elanor Huntington, Dean, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Australian National University
• Fergus Hanson, Head of the International Cyber Policy Centre (chair)

Date: 28 February 2018
Time: 1630 – 1730
Venue: ASPI, Level 2, 40 Macquarie St Barton Canberra 

A canapes and drinks reception will conclude the event. Chris Painter is in Australia as the inaugural distinguished fellow at ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre (ICPC). His visit is made possible thanks to the generous support of DFAT’s Cyber Affairs Special Visits Program, Macquarie Telecom Group and ICPC core sponsors

To register your attendance please contact:

Renee Jones, Events and Communications Manager, ASPI

E: reneejones@aspi.org.au

M: 0400 424 323

Top US cyber adviser Chris Painter announced as ASPI distinguished fellow

Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s International Cyber Policy Centre (ICPC) is pleased to announce Chris Painter – former State Department Coordinator for Cyber issues and former White House Senior Director for Cybersecurity Policy – as its inaugural distinguished cyber fellow for 2018.

Chris has been on the vanguard of US and international cyber issues for over 25 years – first as a leading federal prosecutor of some of the most high-profile cybercrime cases in the country, then as a senior official at the Department of Justice, the FBI, the National Security Council and finally as the world’s first top cyber diplomat at the State Department.

“I am very happy to come back to Australia and spend time with my friends at ASPI’s ICPC and my many friends and colleagues in government, business and civil society. Australia has always been a strong partner on cyber policy and combatting cyber threats. As technical and policy threats increase in cyberspace it is imperative that we work together to promote an open and secure cyberspace, promote stability in cyberspace, and find new ways to deter bad actors,” Chris Painter said.

“Chris has made an extraordinary contribution to the world of cyberspace and national security and we’re delighted to host him at ASPI. Chris’s research at the centre will look at some of the big strategic issues in cyber affairs,” Head of ICPC Fergus Hanson said.

Chris will be in Australia from the 20th Feb until the 10th March. He will participate in a range of meetings, roundtables and events including the ASPI Cyber Masterclass on 28 February. Watch our event page and @ASPI_ICPC for more information. For media enquiries please contact reneejones@aspi.org.au / 0400 424 323

Chris’s visit is made possible thanks to the generous support of DFAT’s Cyber Affairs Special Visits Program, Macquarie Telecom Group and ICPC core sponsors.

What He Did on His Summer Break: Exposed a Global Security Flaw – The New York Times

Danielle Cave, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said that Twitter is playing an increasingly important role in open-source intelligence, the collection of sensitive information from publicly available sources. Researchers from think tanks, nongovernmental organizations and the corporate sector who are at the cutting edge of cybersecurity work gravitate to the platform to exchange information, she said.

Read the full story here.