The Home Affairs secretary has announced three new Protective Security Directions to protect government networks from foreign interference.
Home Affairs Secretary Stephanie Foster has issued three Protective Security Directions to government agencies under the provisions of the government’s Protective Service Policy Framework.
The national cyber security coordinator, Lieutenant General Michelle McGuinness, said: “These directions support the Australian government’s commitment under the 2023–2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy to strengthen the cyber maturity of government departments and agencies.”
Direction 001-2024 calls for all “Australian government entities” to “identify indicators of foreign ownership, control or influence risk” regarding the IT hardware used by government agencies. To that end, departments must conduct a full risk assessment of any hardware or technology concerning that “entity’s risk environment”.
Direction 002-2024 “requires Australian government entities to identify and actively manage the risks associated with vulnerable technologies they manage, including those they manage for other entities,” while…
