Top secret government report on cyber defences blocked from release
The Albanese government this year established the Coordinator for Cybersecurity, but a report outlining why the position was needed remains secret.
In October 2022, senior figures in the Australian government were trying to work out what the massive data breaches of Optus and Medibank meant for their own cyber defences.
Millions of Australians’ private information had been compromised in the cyber attacks, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wanted to make sure the federal government wasn’t susceptible to similar attacks. He also wanted the government to be better prepared to help the next Optus or Medibank deal with a large cyber attack.
Many Commonwealth departments have in the past failed to meet the government's own cybersecurity standards, including the Prime Minister's Office and the Department of Home Affairs, according to an audit by the Auditor-General.
Albanese decided to order a review into the government’s cyber functions. Cyber policy is normally the domain of Home Affairs and Cybersecurity Minister Clare O’Neil, but because this was a review into how cyber defences were structured across the whole Commonwealth, it was run out of Albanese’s department.
