Australia will introduce one of the world’s strictest cyber security laws to bolster its defences against attacks launched by foreign powers targeting its critical infrastructure.
Canberra is preparing tougher legislation to protect national infrastructure assets from digital assault across 11 sectors, ranging from telecoms networks and electricity grids to water and sewerage companies. Businesses involved in financial services, defence, research, healthcare and education will also be subject to the laws.
The stiffer rules are set to be ratified by parliament as tensions rise between the US and its allies, including Australia, and China and Russia. A parliamentary committee was told last year that it was “100 per cent possible” that there was already a dormant presence, installed by foreign state actors, in parts of Australia’s critical national infrastructure designed to cripple its networks.