policy & reform
campusreview.com.au
Foreign interference
New taskforce part of minister’s
strategy to do “everything in our
power” to protect university data.
By Wade Zaglas
F
ederal Education Minister Dan Tehan
unveiled the details of a university
foreign interference taskforce during
his recent address to the National Press
Club in Canberra.
“The information that our universities
hold is of interest to foreign actors, and
therefore we need to make sure we’re
doing everything in our power to protect
that information,” he told the Press Club.
Tehan added that, according to the
Australian Cyber Security Centre, “the
targeting of Australian universities continues
to increase”.
“Universities are an attractive target,
given their research across a range of fields
and the intellectual property this research
generates. Additionally, state-sponsored
cyber adversaries may use university
networks as infrastructure due to their
reliability and high and varied traffic, thus
allowing adversaries to ‘hide in the noise’,”
he said.
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“When it comes to foreign interference,
we are providing clarity at the intersection
of national security, research, collaboration
and a university’s autonomy.
“Everybody wants a considered,
methodical approach to deal with this
issue. One that strikes a balance between
our national interest and giving universities
the freedom to pursue research and
collaboration that expands our knowledge
and leads to life-improving innovations.
“We must get the balance right. This
week the universities, working with our
government agencies, produced a road
map for the development of the guidelines.
This continues the collaborative approach
agreed earlier this month when I met with
VCs in Wollongong,” he said.
Five overarching principles have been
developed to tackle the issue: academic
freedom must be safeguarded by security,
values and research collaboration;
research, collaboration and education must
be guided by national interest; security
is a collective responsibility guided by
individual accountability; security should
be proportionate to “organisational risk”;
and the security and safety of universities
is paramount.
Four key strategic areas have been
identified: a cyber security working group,
a research and intellectual property group,
a “foreign collaboration working group ...
that avoids harm to Australia’s interests”,
and a culture and communication group
“that will foster a positive security culture
through engagement with government
and the broader community to educate,
increase awareness and approve research
and cyber resilience”.
“This process will complement work
currently underway by the group involving
Defence, other relevant agencies,
universities and industry to develop
practical, risk-based legislative proposals
to address identified gaps in the Defence
Trade Controls Act.
“The Act is designed to prevent the
transfer of defence and dual-use technology
to those who may use it contrary to
Australia’s interests,” Tehan said.
The minister pointed out that the work on
foreign interference forms part of a “broader
picture”, ensuring academic freedom
and freedom of speech are protected in
Australia’s higher education sector.
“To fully protect free speech and
academic freedom, Justice French
produced a voluntary Model Code for
universities that set out a framework to
ensure three things: freedom of speech is a
paramount value of Australian universities;
academic freedom must remain a defining
value; and institutional autonomy is central
to Australia’s higher education sector.
“The sense that some students and staff
at universities are self-censoring out of fear
they’ll be shouted down or condemned for
expressing sincerely held views and beliefs,
or for challenging widely accepted ideas,
should concern us all,” Tehan said.
“For every Australian, and this includes
our universities and their staff and students,
the test of our commitment to free speech
is whether we are willing to tolerate the
speech of others, especially those with
whom we most disagree.
“We must foster the ability to listen
to other viewpoints and encourage an
environment where disagreement does
not involve verbal attacks or threats.
“As the prime minister has said, we must
disagree better. I believe universities want
to know if students and staff are afraid to
discuss certain topics. It is only through
diversity of thinking, perspective and
intellectual style that we get innovation and
problem solving. It means protecting our
institutions from foreign interference, and
ensuring freedom of speech.” ■