Sydney Joint Cyber Security Centre officially launched

The latest government-backed Joint Cyber Security Centre has launched in Sydney, joining centres in Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth.

Although today marks the official launch of the Sydney JCSC, the centre opened in mid-December and has already hosted a number of events in 2018.

The JCSC program is intended to promote collaboration on information security across the private and public sectors. The program is open to government agencies, businesses that meet certain criteria, security vendors and consulting firms, and academic, research and not-for-profit institutions.

The first centre launched in Brisbane in early 2017.

The program is a component of the government’s national cyber security strategy, unveiled in April 2016. An update to the strategy, released last year, foreshadowed an accelerated rollout of the JCSC program.

An Adelaide-based centre is expected to launch in mid-2018.

The centres are intended to allow the sharing of sensitive security information including threat intelligence as well as boost access to cyber security resources.

“This is an important step to enhance Australia’s defensive cyber capabilities,” said Angus Taylor, Australia’s cyber security minister.

“The JCSC is a critical hub for business and government to improve their cyber security practices and share information in a trusted environment.

 “We have already run a number of cyber security exercises across these centres, particularly in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games.”

The JCSC program is led by CERT Australia, which has been expanded as part of the government’s cyber security strategy.