https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-24/anthony-albanese-in-washington-dc-microso...Tech giant Microsoft will help Australia build a "cyber shield" to fend off global online threats under a plan to sink billions of dollars into securing and expanding the national digital economy.
Key points:
Anthony Albanese is in the US at the invitation of Joe Biden
He joined Microsoft's president to announce the tech giant's $5 billion investment in Australia
The company will work with Australia's online security agency on the cyber-shield project
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Microsoft president Brad Smith unveiled the plan at the Australian embassy in Washington, DC on the first day of the PM's official visit to the US.
Microsoft says the project is part of its biggest investment in Australia in its 40-year history: a $5 billion plan to expand infrastructure and skills, with a focus on cloud technology and artificial intelligence.
The company will work with the Australian Signals Directorate — the national agency responsible for cybersecurity and online warfare — to build the cyber shield, dubbed MACS (Microsoft-Australian Signals Directorate Cyber Shield).Without naming specific countries, Microsoft said it would have a focus on "defending against sophisticated nation-state cyber threats".
Asked about the plan being aimed at countering the threat of China, Mr Albanese said it was "aimed at strengthening Australia".
He said it was one of the first steps in the Australian Cyber Security Strategy, announced after last year's Optus and Medibank hack scandals and aimed at making Australia "the world’s most cyber-secure nation" by 2030.