AusCERT will be replaced by the federal government’s newly established CERT Australia, which will take over the critical role of frontline protection against cyber-threats.
Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland said CERT Australia "will now be the sole supplier of national CERT services to the community and the point of contact for international CERTs".
Last month, The Australian revealed AusCERT was yet to reach agreement on contracted services with the government after negotiations lasting almost a year.
AusCERT, based in the University of Queensland, is largely funded by its private sector members and received federal funding of around $250,000 per annum for government agencies subscriptions.
Jeremy Crowley, director of AusCERT and IT Services at UQ, said they were disappointed with the decision.
“We hope CERT Australia won’t use taxpayer funds to duplicate the services of a not-for-profit organisation with a proven track record of delivering these services effectively for many years,” Mr Crowley said.
“However, we believe there is room for both teams to operate as CERT Australia has indicated it is primarily interested in helping protect critical infrastructure.”
Mr Crowley said it would be “business as usual” for members.
According to Mr McClelland CERT Australia would be "fully established within the Attorney-General's Department rather than through the partly contracted model previously envisaged".
"CERT Australia represents the fulcrum of the business-government partnership on cyber security by providing business, for the first time, with a single point of contact with the government for (threat) information," he said at the launch of the National Cyber Security Information Exchange in Sydney today.
"And it must be a trusted broker of information for both the private sector and international internet community, while also being integrated with our national security and intelligence agencies."
The arrangements would permit closer operation with the new Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC), opened within Defence in January.
Last year, Mr McClelland allocated $6.2 million in the budget to bring together AusCERT and GovCERT (later renamed CERT Australia), in partnership with CSOC.
Mr Crowley said many organisations would continue to benefit from AusCERT’s expertise and services.
“We’re willing and able to assist our overseas counterparts resolve matters locally, as required,” he said. “We have actively contributed to the global self-help information security community since 1993, and our contacts are very important to us.”
Meanwhile, Mr McClelland also confirmed the government was taking steps to sign up with the global treaty aimed at fighting fraud and other offences committed using the internet, such as computer hacking, child pornography and copyright infringement.
Mr McClelland said the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime was a fast and effective regime for international co-operation in response to online threats.
"Whatever view is ultimately taken on the desirability of government regulation of the internet, there is a need for us to raise awareness of the security risks inherent in transacting online - without undermining trust in the online economy," he said.
"But it's hard to escape the conclusion that the global cyber-security environment continues to deteriorate, with most crime indicators showing that the problem is getting worse rather than better.
"While some companies may disregard the risks, this is not a sustainable business model. The law has not yet developed a concept of electronic fiduciary responsibility, but surely similar principles of protecting entrusted information should apply."
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Karen Dearne
Quelle/Source: Australian IT, 10.06.2010
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