ACS Welcomes E-Security Review & Calls for the National Framework to Reflect Converging Technology

The Australian Computer Society (ACS), the peak professional body for the ICT sector, has welcomed the Government review of the current E-Security National Agenda framework, calling for the framework to reflect converging technology and continued convergence of the work and home environments.ACS Chairman Kumar Parakala referred to the ACS’s 2006 E-Security submission and recent calls for email privacy legislation changes stating, “We are pleased that the Federal Government has taken on ACS recommendations and has called for a whole-of- government e-security review, as this will build a level of confidence with consumers & the business community to conduct business online.“Recent ABS figures indicate that whilst although1 86% of all businesses had access to the internet access during the year ended 30 June 2007, only 40% had placed orders via the Internet or web during 2006-07. We need to ensure the utmost confidence of all business and consumers conducting business online. Huge productivity gains for the community and business will be lost without proper investment into establishing a national framework that reflects contemporary communication modes and contemporary work environments.“The ACS will be making a submission to the Federal Government, which will include our recent calls for adopting an auditing system for random employee email checks, as well as alert and logbook systems. Most importantly the review must take into consideration that we are living in a networked era, where uninterrupted access to the web and private and corporate email is part of life – Australia should develop and implement a contemporary e-security framework, which is in line with a work life balance.“Current e-security measures do not adequately protect Australians as our critical infrastructure, business & financial resources are increasingly migrated to the Internet. We believe it’s essential that in the review, the Government considers methods such as behaviour blocking, virus throttling, protocol anomaly protection and generic exploit blocking to protect governments, businesses and the community. The regulation of e-security consultants is also an issue that needs to be considered within the review. In an age where cyber-terrorism is an ever-present risk, the security of public and private digital infrastructure is more often the result of good luck rather than good management,” said Mr Parakala.Key areas the ACS believes will present the major security threats to Australia in coming years include:
Removable media & storage devices
VOIP
Public wireless hotspots
Instant messaging devices
Online gaming devices
Commercialisation of vulnerability research