Aussie Gov't Won't Help Fight Cyber Attacks 101
mask.of.sanity writes "Days after the Pentagon's #2 called for a NATO cyber-shield, the Australian government has announced it won't lift a finger to help the country's businesses to defend themselves against cyber attacks unless it presents a high risk to national security. Instead, Australia's security agencies will forge a response based on the 'pathology of the problem,' incorporating the risk the attack poses to government and the community. A senior security official said the government 'struggles to defend its own systems from the current threats,' let alone that of other industries. He went on to rubbish claims that existing military force strategies can be applied to cyber warfare, noting that the demarcation between civil attacks, such as domestic hacking, and those against nation-states, such as espionage, is blurry. Former US counter-terrorism advisor Richard Clarke said the US government has taken a similar line."
Re:Sweet! (Score:3, Interesting)
This isn't the government saying it won't pursue prosecution if there is accusation of a crime within its jurisdiction, just that it is not the government's duty to provide protection against the specific instance of a crime possible occurring. On your twisted extension, that means they won't provide every citizen with a kevlar vest, though they do so for the military.
Re:Aussie govt won't lift a finger... (Score:1, Interesting)
Don't forget impounding those evil "hoons" cars. Nothing is more important than ensuring that Australian roads are completely free of import vehicles and car enthusiasts. How else can you train the population to help the government prop up our car industry than to intimidate them into buying the junk that rolls off the assembly line here?
Or making sure that nobody, absolutely nobody, takes their eyes off the speedometer for even half a second, lest they creep 0.0000001 km/h over the limit, thereby killing 10 starving disabled orphans instantly and advancing the impending doom of civilisation.
Yeah, keep up the great work.
OT: The government barely understands the internet at all. The NSW government claimed they had been "breached after two days of sustained attacks" [securecomputing.net.au] when a newspaper found they could freely access the URL of an agency the gov't used to produce train timetables. The agency didn't secure the pages, so the government kicked up a stink about being "hacked". I'm glad they're keeping their incompetence far far away from our networks.
DO. NOT. WANT.