INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Mobile Technology
Macquarie Telecom Group welcomes framework to protect Australia ’ s cybersecurity
Macquarie Telecom Group has welcomed the publication of the Whole of Government Hosting Strategy that seeks to protect Australia ’ s national security interests in the wake of increased cyberthreats .
Macquarie Telecom Group has welcomed publication , by the Digital Transformation Agency , of the Whole of Government Hosting Strategy ( Hosting Certification Framework ), championed by the Minister for Government Services , Stuart Robert .
The Hosting Certification Framework will give government and industry clarity when considering data management decisions with respect to the federal government ’ s criteria for data sovereignty , privacy , supply chain risk and cybersecurity .
“ The events of the past 13 months have shown us the importance of Australia ’ s critical sovereign data , and the infrastructure and hosting arrangements that store , protect and manage data ,” said Aidan Tudehope , Managing Director , Macquarie Government .
“ The DTA ’ s Hosting Certification Framework creates a new expectation for managed service providers and other cloud providers to onshore their data , regardless of any intermediaries and partner with local data center operators . This is essential both in terms of Australia ’ s cybersecurity posture and to support our economic recovery through local sector uplift .
“ It follows a consistent series of legislation and initiatives from Minister Stuart Robert and the Federal Government that are geared towards better protecting Australia ’ s national security interests in the wake of increased cyberthreats and greater emphasis required to safeguard our nation ’ s data .”
Macquarie also strongly welcomed the vetting of key personnel involved in managing and hosting government data by an Australian Government Security Vetting Agency ( AGSVA ) approved vetting company , as detailed in the Hosting Certification Framework .
“ We ’ ve placed a huge emphasis on training and accrediting our personnel who work with government data , underscored by the fact we have over 150 NV1-cleared cyberengineers ,” added Tudehope .
“ This was prudent and appropriate . The vetting requirements now mandated by the federal government will see greater security oversight and robustness to the entire industry .”
The framework highlights that providers which use remote-in-support services will not be viable for the ‘ Strategic ’ and ‘ Assured ’ certifications , putting a block on companies off-shoring roles and data access through ‘ follow-the-sun ’ support services .
“ Follow the sun has become a key threat in how Australia ’ s sensitive data is managed and secured ,” added Tudehope . “ Comprehensive 24x7x365 support can easily be provided within Australia , as local providers have demonstrated , also providing enormous and obvious security and jobs benefits .
Aidan Tudehope , Managing Director ,
Macquarie Government
“ With this framework in place , Australia is building towards a sovereign ecosystem of cloud and ICT services that will better serve our increasingly digital economy in a safe and secure manner .” p
WE ’ VE PLACED A HUGE EMPHASIS ON TRAINING AND ACCREDITING OUR PERSONNEL WHO WORK WITH GOVERNMENT DATA .
70 INTELLIGENTCIO APAC www . intelligentcio . com