ACT government websites withstood more than 646,000 cyber attacks in the FY10 financial year, according to Chief Minister Jon Stanhope.
Of the attacks, 78,000 were rated as high under the Common Vulnerability Scoring System, and 565,000 as medium.
But Stanhope said the security provided by ICT service provider InTACT had managed to fight off each of the attacks through a combination of firewalls, intruder prevention systems and geographically dispersed hosting.
“The fact that not one of the attacks on ACT Government-hosted websites was successful demonstrates the robust security procedures and tactics in place,” he said.
InTACT continuously reviews the vulnerability of the 98 public-facing ACT government websites, Stanhope said, using a combination of automated and manual testing.
“Prior to allowing a new website to go live, InTACT's ICT security team tests the vulnerability of the site to cyber attacks using automated and manual tactics," he said. "The security team also conducts periodic audits across websites using an internal ethical hacker.”
The ACT government, the federal government and computer emergency response team AusCERT also keep each other up to date with the latest threats and security advice, he added.