Australia's Prime Minister is investing AU$230 million in cybersecurity
Following attacks on the country's Bureau of Meteorology and Department of Parliamentary Services, PM Malcolm Turnbull has announced his AU$230 million Cyber Security Strategy.
Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull hopes to help bring the country into the 21st century with his Cyber Security Strategy, announced on Thursday.
The PM says that the government will be investing AU$230 million (around $180 million or £125 million) on new measures, including hiring over 100 IT specialists and the implementation of 33 initiatives.
It comes after key official organisations in Australia have come under cyberattack, with Turnbull revealing in a speech that the country's Bureau of Meteorology "suffered a significant cyber intrusion" last year, according to the ABC. "The Department of Parliamentary Services suffered a similar intrusion in recent years," he added.
Online attacks are looking to become a significant frontier of war, with the US last month publicly announcing that it was hitting ISIS systems with cyberassaults. Similarly, Turnbull said that the Australian government, too, has "offensive cyber capability".
It's not just a matter of defence, either, with economy being a factor. The PM said on his official website that the strategy aims to help "the transition to a new and more diverse economy which is fuelled by innovation, the opening of new markets and more investment in Australian enterprise."