| 1Beyond Academia: Cyber Security Research Impacts

Beyond Academia: Cyber Security Research ImpactsJanuary 2017

Never Stand Still The Australian Centre for Cyber Security

| 3Beyond Academia: Cyber Security Research Impacts2 | The Australian Centre for Cyber Security

ACCS INCUBATOR

The Australian Centre for Cyber Security (ACCS) was established in the University of New South Wales Canberra in mid-2014. It has a small core staff which plugs into an additional 55 academic staff across the university in Sydney and Canberra. This report relates to the cumulative impact of the ACCS Incubator (the small core unit in Canberra) in the period 2014-2016, even though most staff only joined the centre recently. This is a pioneering team undertaking research and education, some of which is unique in Australia. It is led by a nationally prominent researcher who has received nine Category 1 research grants.

Staff

– Professor Jill Slay AM – Dr Benjamin Turnbull – Dr Elena Sitnikova – Dr Nalin Asanka Gamagedara Arachchilage – Professor Greg Austin – Tim Wilson-Brown – Dr Gideon Greech – Dr Nicolas Micalieff – Dr Jai Galliott

The ACCS Incubator has eight cross-cutting research priorities, as set out in our “Research Plan”, a publicly available document.

1. Cyber-enabled war, ADF strategies and capability

2. Assessing mission-critical aspects of cyber attack and defence

3. Cyber intrusions, detection and forensics

4. Cyber education and skilling, especially for security agencies

5. Human aspects of cyber security and privacy

6. Cyber dependency and resilience of critical national infrastructure

7. International threat environment, diplomatic responses and national cyber security policy

8. Ethics in cyber space

IMPACT #1: MILITARY DEFENCE OF CYBER SPACE

Since July 2014, ACCS has become an important national asset for research and ideas informing security policy in cyber space (defence, diplomacy, counter-terrorism, espionage, cyber technologies)

Evidence

1. ACCS is the only university centre in the country now consistently researching the topic of Australian military policy for cyber war; and this research has been discussed with relevant senior officials on a variety of occasions

2. ACCS partnered with the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) in November 2015 to organise a one-day symposium, with research papers, on “Redefining R&D Needs for Australian Cyber Security”, the first such event of its kind in the country

3. Knowledge transfer through a suite of Master’s degrees unique in Australia oriented to national security agencies and defence force, and associated professional development courses ($2 million new income in 2016)

4. An ACCS staff member was the only Australian scholar to provide a research paper as a public submission on cyber war issues to the last Defence White Paper process (2014-2016)

5. The Australian Army and RAAF send Ph D students to ACCS for supervised research to support post-study leadership roles in fields directly related to their doctoral studies

6. Relevant national security agencies regularly invite ACCS staff and doctoral students to advise on the results of their research

7. ACCS staff contribute regularly to globally prominent media outlets (.e.g. Boston Globe and The Conversation), journalist reports (e.g. MIT Technology Review), and industry conferences on these military-related subjects

8. ACCS organises well-attended briefings for Australian officials and foreign diplomats on relevant military-related research

9. ACCS staff brief their research to Australian Defence colleges

10. ACCS staff interact with officials in the United States Department of Defense on research findings, with one scholar briefing in the Office of the Secretary for Defense

Doctoral Candidates

– Lt. Col. Lisa Davidson – Lt. Col. David Ormrod – Sqn. Ldr. Daniel Clark – Lt. Col. Andy Williams – Ms. Awanthika Senarath – Mr. Nour Moustafa – Mr. Chamila Dilshan Wijayarathna – Mr. Ben Witham – Mr. Steven Wilson

4 | The Australian Centre for Cyber Security | 5Beyond Academia: Cyber Security Research Impacts

SECURITY IN CYBER SPACE: THE MATRIX OF RESEARCH AREAS

SoftwareCounteringTerrorism

CounteringCrime

Protecting Critical

InfrastructureCyber

EnabledWar

Policy

Espionage

ProtectingChildren

Privacy

Payload

PowerSupply

Securing theDigital

Economy

InformationEcosystem

Hardware

Education&

Skills

Networks

6 | The Australian Centre for Cyber Security | 7Beyond Academia: Cyber Security Research Impacts

IMPACT #2: CYBER SECURITY IN THE CIVIL SECTOR

ACCS has become an important resource for research and ideas informing national policy on civil sector (non-defence) cyber security

Evidence

1. ACCS is the only university centre in the country to have published a research paper previewing the Australian government’s April 2016 Cyber Security Strategy and to have published a research paper analysing it after the release of the strategy

2. ACCS staff have been invited to brief leading Australian corporations, business groups, and government agencies (including ANZ, NBNCo, ASIC, Thales, Childrens’ eSafety Commissioner) on these topics

3. ACCS has received research grants from the private sector to develop some of that work, especially around usable security

4. The Centre Director has been invited to lead a national level task force on professionalisation of the cyber security workforce in Australia

5. Another ACCS scholar has been invited to join an industry-based national task force on cyber security

6. ACCS secured a partnership with Data 61 to be a national focal point for research on human aspects of cyber security

7. ACCS staff speak regularly at industry conferences on these topics in Australia and overseas (with events in 2016 alone in Beijing, Washington DC, Oxford, London, and Delhi)

8. An ACCS researcher received positive and negative responses to a proposal to set up a Cyber Civil Corps (a cyber “militia”) under the direction of the Minister for Communications

9. An ACCS researcher is working as part of a team to develop a non-profit organisation in the field of cyber security community-based education

10. Visible and consistent profile in public debates on a high priority set of national cyber security issues: among policy constituencies, business communities, civil society and academic colleagues in Australia and internationally, many of whom respond directly to our specific research findings

IMPACT #3: TECHNICAL PROBLEM SOLVING FOR GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS

ACCS has become an important resource for providing technical solutions through research to selected problems of cyber security for government agencies and corporations

Evidence

1. Secured partnership with Data 61 (CSIRO) to be a national focal point for research on human aspects of cyber security

2. Leading corporations in India and the United States have contacted us to discuss application of our published research on social engineering for system intrusion

3. Leading commercial firms in Melbourne sponsored a dedicated presentation by us of a technological solution to combat social engineering for system intrusion

4. We have consulted with the Office of the Children’s e-Safety Commissioner in Australia on developing a Cyber-Stalking Awareness Toolkit to protect Australian teens

5. Recognition of research excellence through invitations to two senior staff to join national level task forces (a chairing role in one task force convened by the Australian government and a professional peak body, and a membership role in another task force convened by private industry)

6. The U.S. Navy awarded a research grant to an ACCS researcher

7. Other business-in-confidence activities

*Research impact is the demonstrable contribution--beyond academia--that research makes to the economy, society, culture, national security, public policy or services, health, the environment, or quality of life, beyond contributions to academia.

8 | The Australian Centre for Cyber Security

For More Information:Luke Garner (Centre Manager)E: l.garner@adfa.edu.auT : 02 6268 8068

Professor Jill Slay (Director, ACCS)E: j.slay@adfa.edu.au

Cricos Provider Code: 00098G • CMU 170012