The Australian government launched its first Joint Cyber Security Centre in Brisbane on February 24. The center is part of a AU$47 million program that will see additional centers open in Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. The centers aim to boost cybersecurity resilience in the country by bringing industry, government and law enforcement together to share relevant threat information under the one roof.
The Brisbane center includes representatives from Australian and Queensland government agencies, law enforcement, and critical infrastructure owners and operators. These will conduct a broad range of joint activities, including data analytics, targeted training, workshops and threat mapping. The Australian government has also recently said that work is underway on an information sharing portal that will broaden the reach of the centers.
In addition, the government announced it would be giving AU$1.9 million to universities that deliver specialized cybersecurity training in a bid to combat the skills shortage in cyber-related fields.
Under the program, universities can apply to be recognized as Academic Centres of Cyber Security.
Meanwhile, Singapore has opened a cybersecurity facility to support research efforts between academia and industry players and provide a testbed for product development.
The S$8.4 million (US$5.93 million) site is located at the National University of Singapore and can simulate more than 1,000 computers to perform various tasks to create cybersecurity incidents, such as large-scale malicious cyber attacks. It also has a large database of malware that can be tapped for research and education purposes.
