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McClelland launches cyber security week

Attorney-General urges internet users to be vigilant about online security

Attorney-General Robert McClelland has launched national cyber security awareness week, urging online vigilance as the internet increasingly becomes part of our daily lives.

Where Australians once went to the White Pages for a phone number, now they go online, and where video gamers used to go the arcade, they now download from their living rooms.

"While the internet has the potential to make our day-to-day lives richer and easier, we must remain vigilant to our online security," McClelland said on Monday.

The latest large scale cyber attacks and hacking operations have focused on the Sony Playstation - a video games console that opened another gateway between the couch and the internet.

"It has become impossible for most of us to imagine surviving a day without using the internet," McClelland said.

"Advances in the technologies we use, and the reasons we use it, are accompanied by developments in the number and type of cyber threats we face."

China has admitted to forming a so-called Blue Army, a 300-strong group of "cyberwarriors" who are trained to protect the country from outside attacks on its networks, The Times newspaper of London reported last week.

While the Chinese government says the Blue Group is a protection force, suspicions remain over Chinese involvement in cyberattacks against Australian and global internet networks.

"I would like to emphasise that the Australian government takes its own information security seriously," McClelland said.

Over the last 18 months the government has significantly built up its cyber defences.

Leading that decision was the creation of the Cyber Security Operations Centre, which now works closely with the Computer Emergency Response Team when internet attacks and other online problems arise.

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

More about: Attorney-General, Computer Emergency Response Team, Playstation, Sony

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