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Government caught out by the pace of cyber attacks

government caught out by the pace of cyber attacks

The Australian government has been dramatically outflanked by the recent global onslaught of cyber attacks, and is only now scrambling to discern associated opportunities, says Dtex founder and chief technology officer Mohan Koo.

The Australian government has been dramatically outflanked by the recent global onslaught of cyber attacks, and is only now scrambling to discern associated opportunities, says Dtex founder and chief technology officer Mohan Koo.

Koo – whose firm Dtex offers a suite of endpoint security services targeting the "intersection between surveillance and privacy" – told Defence Connect that only from the start of last year had things started to change.

"Everybody started to realise," he said. "Some new structures started to get put in place at federal government level, which has really driven some strong impact."

Koo welcomed, for instance, the installation of the nation’s first ever Cyber Security Minister, adding "Minister [Dan] Tehan is doing a great job, and we've [also] got Alastair MacGibbon, who's the Prime Minister's special adviser on cyber.

"They're really driving hard [but] it's a tough gig, because there's a big cultural shift that's required if Australia's really going to take the bull by the horns. [However], I really do believe we have an opportunity in front of us right now, [and] that if we keep the rate of change going, we can really lead the world in cyber security."

The Dtex CTO also praised the Australian education system, holding it up as a further key tool for the nation to wield in its quest to capitilise on the opportunities around cyber security.

To hear more from Mohan Koo, stay tuned for our exclusive podcast.