Despite information security figuring in the defence and national security consciousness since well before the end of the Cold War, we remain in the early days of cyber. For some years after September 2001, when …
Articles by: "Lesley Seebeck"
Enabled by digital technologies and fuelled by geopolitical competition, hybrid threats in the Indo-Pacific are increasing in breadth, application and intensity. Hybrid threats are a mix of military, non-military, covert and overt activities by state …
The early days in any great undertaking can be chaotic. The AUKUS partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States was announced last September, and it may be a little premature to worry …
The way cyber actions have played out in the Russian invasion of Ukraine hasn’t followed the anticipated script. The attacks on Ukrainian government agencies and banks in early and mid-February were not unexpected, given Russian …
Russia has made a speciality of integrating its cyber efforts with broader offensives. It’s been refining the practice, as was evident in its invasion of Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014, and now in …
In the early days of cybersecurity, organisations adopted the model of Berlin during the Cold War: a wall high enough to prevent unwanted border crossings and a Checkpoint Charlie to regulate the rest. But the …
During a pandemic, some in Australia may argue that any excess defence funding should be allocated to rapid antigen tests and a creaking hospital system. But there’s good reason to ensure funding is held to …
Having a coherent strategy matters. It allows the effective allocation of scarce resources. It provides a framework against which events and trends can be assessed, helping to guide bureaucratic action, diplomatic activity and military posture. …
So we’ve gone all in. The trend lines have been there for a while, but as several commentators have pointed out already, the awkwardly named AUKUS is a step change in the level of commitment …
Ten years ago, in September 2011, Australia and the US stretched ANZUS to cover cyberspace. That year’s AUSMIN communiqué addressed the challenges posed by growing cyber threats, specifically endorsing a joint statement on cyberspace. The …
Canberra, we have a problem. The collapse of the Afghan government and security forces; the victory of the Taliban; the abandonment of Afghans, particularly women; the unruly scramble to evacuate; and the apparently limited consultation …
The Indo-Pacific looms large as an arena of intensifying geopolitical competition. Typically, governments look to their militaries to balance competitors in such circumstances. But the great-power competition we’re seeing now is not merely military—it’s political, …