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The Australian government’s new air-gapped hyperscale Defence Secret Environment, delivered with Google Cloud, has marked a major milestone as Australia secures its most sensitive operational and intelligence data.
The Department of Defence recently announced a new air-gapped hyperscale Defence Secret Environment in partnership with Google Cloud.
The platform is designed to handle Australia’s most sensitive operational and intelligence information while remaining isolated from the public internet.
“The new air-gapped hyperscale cloud reduces risk by maintaining the isolation of Defence’s most sensitive systems from the public internet, while leveraging modern cloud capabilities,” GME defence general manager Christopher Rule said.
“In short, improved DSE security and improved DSE performance.”
The DSE is expected to consolidate legacy ICT systems into a single sovereign, cloud-native environment, further improving visibility and control over classified data flows.
“It consolidates legacy ICT into a single, sovereign, cloud-native environment, improving visibility and control over classified data flows,” Rule added.
“This creates a more defensible architecture end to end, with sovereign security partners able to harden the ‘last mile’ between the cloud and operational users at the edge.”
The emphasis on sovereign hardening reflects Defence’s increasing focus on end-to-end resilience, from strategic headquarters to deployed forces operating in contested environments.
While Defence has engaged a global hyperscale provider, Rule stressed that sovereign control over national security data remains essential.
“We anticipate that a key requirement placed on Google will be the guarantee of sovereign control over data at rest and data in transit,” he said.
“Australia must retain legal and technical control over who can access, move and exploit national security data in the cloud.”
The use of sovereign, Australian-controlled security layers are also envisioned to reduce exposure to foreign legal and data sovereignty risks, as well as supply chain pressure.
“Defence requires best-in-class cyber security products that combine locally managed assurance with technologies sourced from trusted allies, such as the United States, under AUKUS arrangements,” Rule said.
“Striking this balance enables Defence to independently verify, rather than simply trust, the integrity of its most sensitive environments.”
The DSE is expected to align with the Australian Signals Directorate’s Modern Defensible Architecture and Zero Trust Architecture principles.
Under the best case scenario, the next-generation DSE operates seamlessly from Canberra headquarters to aircraft, ships, land platforms and deployed sensors while maintaining connectivity with coalition partners.
Rule said resilience depends on tight control of data ingress and egress, alongside rapid detection and response to anomalous activity.
“We anticipate the DSE will be designed following the principles of ASD’s Modern Defensible Architectures and Zero Trust Architectures,” Rule said.
“Australian-managed and locally supported systems offer assured logistics, rapid patching, and in-theatre support when connectivity is degraded or under active cyber pressure.”
“Following ASD’s guidance will see the DSE following principles such as never trust; always verify; assume a breach; validate explicitly and continuously.”
Technologies such as data and entity tagging, network segmentation, data diodes and cross-domain solutions will underpin the architecture.
Rule pointed to collaboration between GME and Owl Cyber Defense as an example of how Australian industry can sustain trusted cyber technologies within the DSE.
“The data diode and cross domain solutions involved support the network segmentation required to maintain the DSE’s security and integrity,” he said.
“Ongoing development and testing against evolving cyber threats underpin the resilience of these deployments.”
Defence’s secure cloud transformation is expected to stimulate domestic innovation, particularly in AI security, automated threat detection and resilient edge systems.
“Defence’s move to an air-gapped hyperscale cloud explicitly supports AI-enabled operations and modernised command and control,” Rule said.
“This transformation opens the door for local companies to co-design, test and field first-of-type capabilities ... from classified network protection to secure wearables and gateways ... that can then be scaled across Defence and partner forces.”
As the cyber threat environment grows more complex, Australia’s defence industry is being positioned not merely as a support partner to global technology primes but as a sovereign capability layer.
