Australia appointed a veteran air force commander as its first cybersecurity chief on Friday to head the government’s response to significant data breaches and strengthen security amid a rise in network incursions.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese named 30-year Air Marshal Darren Goldie the national cybersecurity coordinator. He will start his term on July 3 with help from a national home affairs office.
“We see this as a vital component of what modern government needs to do to respond to our new and emerging challenges,” Albanese said in a media briefing.
The hiring follows a cyberattack at Australian legal firm HWL Ebsworth, whose clients include the country’s top banks and various government institutions.
HWL Ebsworth has warned that ransomware gang BlackCat (ALPHV) may have exposed stolen data on the dark web. The nation’s top four banks indicated their systems were unaffected earlier this week.
Australia was the fifth-most targeted country by data thieves in January 2023, significantly worse than other nations proportionate to its GDP and population, according to IDC, a government-backed identity theft service.
Since late last year, cyber incursions in Australia have increased, leading the government to overhaul security standards and create an agency to supervise government investment and coordinate hacker attacks in February.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil called Goldie’s appointment as agency chief “important part of the jigsaw puzzle” to combat hackers.
Optus, owned by Singapore Telecommunications (STEL.SI) and Medibank Private (MPL.AX), disclosed major breaches.
