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Aussie Spies Spooked By Cyberwar

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the what-is-it-good-for dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Wikileaks cables released overnight revealed that Australia's top cyber spy agency (akin to the NSA) was unprepared for cyberwar in the view of other intelligence agencies in 2008. Australian agencies were so concerned they asked US intelligence to provide the framework to defend the country's critical information infrastructure, modelling on the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative. Spooks also discussed how Israel was preparing to take down Iran's nuclear program and how to stay relevant when so much information that was classified was now open source and available to anyone."

4 of 72 comments (clear)

  1. In retrospect... by gandhi_2 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...asking the US for tips on information security wasn't probably the best idea.

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    THL phish sticks
  2. Heh. by Black+Parrot · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Spooks also discussed how Israel was preparing to take down Iran's nuclear program and how to stay relevant when so much information that was classified was now open source and available to anyone.

    Well, they got *that* part right.

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    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  3. Re:This isn't surprising. by naz404 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Uhh... Does this mean Australia could have been taken down by Anonymous? They should have asked for help from Amazon instead :P

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    http://www.object404.com
  4. Re:Complete solution in five words by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    why didn't they hire Julian Assange

    Any organization that deals with information security has an obvious (and paradoxical) problem when hiring talent: The most talented (if not experienced) people in information technology as well as security are hackers. Hackers are young, curious, idealistic, independent and anti-authoritarian. The very traits that comprise their talent also make them a potential liability in a rigid command structure.