Google & Australia’s CSIRO to Build Cyber Protection Tools for Critical Infrastructure

• Google is joining hands with Australia's National Science Agency CSIRO to create tools that will detect and fix network vulnerabilities to protect critical infrastructure.
• Critical infrastructure includes hospitals, energy bodies, and defense agencies. The operators of this infrastructure will also have free access to all the findings of the project.
• This initiative is a part of Google's 5-year plan to invest A$1 billion ($675 million) in Australia.

Google is teaming up with Australia's national science agency CSIRO to develop software that will help prevent (or at least reduce) cyberattacks in critical infrastructures by automatically detecting and fixing network vulnerabilities.

Critical infrastructure here refers to hospitals, energy bodies, and the country's defense agencies. The initiative comes under Google's Digital Future Initiative and CSIRO's Critical Infrastructure Protection and Resilience developing mission.

It's also a part of the 5-year commitment that Google made in 2021 to spend A$1 billion ($675 million) in Australia.

The promise was made during a crucial time - when the relationship between Google and Australia was strained because the latter imposed strict regulations on tech firms.

Here's what the initiative will include:

• Both parties will work together to create tools that can identify and fix vulnerabilities in open-source software components.
• They will also develop automated vulnerability scanners and data protocols that can quickly assess the impact of the vulnerability.
• They will create a secure framework that provides Australian CI operators with clear guidance on how to adhere to current requirements and a baseline for future ones.

The best part is that all project findings will be publicly available so that critical infrastructure operators can easily access them for free.

What makes this duo perfect for this initiative is that Google already has an existing open-source vulnerability database and storage cloud. This, when paired with CSIRO's research methods, is bound to create wonderful results.

Software supply chain vulnerabilities are a global issue, and Australia has led the way in legislative measures to control and combat the risks.' - Stefan Avgoustakis, head of security practice for Google Cloud in Australia and New Zealand

Dr Ejaz Ahmed, who is the project lead at CSIRO also added that locally developed cybersecurity software would be better compliant with local regulations, ensuring there's more trust and security.

Reason behind This Move

Australia has been a victim of a series of cyberattacks lately, exposing details about 26 million citizens.

• For instance, in 2023, Latitude, a personal loan and financial service provider, was breached which impacted 14 million users.
• The stolen information includes full names, email addresses, phone numbers, passport numbers, driver's license numbers, and dates of birth.
• Similarly in 2022, Medibank, the Australian health insurance giant, was also hit by a data breach that impacted 9.7 million.

With growing technical sophistication, cyber-attacks are becoming more frequent and dangerous. Data breaches aren't the only cause of concern. Hackers can even bring an entire company to a halt if they manage to hack a critical system.

So naturally, Australia is looking for ways to protect its critical infrastructure from more cyber attacks. And the best way to go about it is to fix vulnerabilities before they are discovered and exploited.

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