Google and Australia’s national science agency said they will work together to develop software that automatically detects and fixes network vulnerabilities for critical infrastructure operators, seeking to tackle a surge in cyberattacks.
Software for organisations such as hospitals, defence agencies and energy providers will be customised to align with Australia’s regulatory environment.
“Software supply chain vulnerabilities are a global issue and Australia has led the way in legislative measures to control and combat the risks,” said Stefan Avgoustakis, head of Google Cloud’s security practice in Australia and New Zealand.
The Australian government has been imposing stricter requirements on critical infrastructure operators to report and prevent cyberattacks after a series of breaches over the past two years left the personal information of half of the country’s 26 million people exposed.
The research partnership will combine Google’s existing open-source vulnerability database and cloud storage with the research methods of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the parties said in a statement.
Google said the plan was part of a five-year commitment it made in 2021 to spend $US1 billion ($675 million) in Australia at a time when the country’s push for tighter regulation of global tech companies had chilled relations with the U.S. firm.
Google also provides cybersecurity services to the United States as part of a $9 billion contract between the U.S. Department of Defense and several major technology companies.
Ejaz Ahmed, CSIRO project director, said locally developed cybersecurity software “will better align with local regulations, promoting greater compliance and increased reliability.” The project’s findings will be made public to give critical infrastructure operators easy access to information.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First published: August 22, 2024 | 8:11 a.m. IS
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