Government must do more on cyber security

The federal government has spent millions of dollars trying to secure its vital online resources but it's not enough.

That is the finding of a major study that spoke with many of the staff at the front line of the government's Web presence.

"We are not keeping pace with the growing threat," the report from the Kokoda Foundation reveals.

While Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, has been warning of the imminent danger posed by Web attacks from individual hackers, terrorists and nations, it appears he has failed to make most civilians take note.

The foundation is calling for a new approach.

Its chief recommendation calls on the government to build and lead a "long-term national cyber strategy and cyber capability plan".

Some of the groundwork for such a strategy has already been completed.

Mr McClelland has established several cyber security-focused groups including the little-known Cyber Emergency Response Team and last year he opened the Cyber Security Operations Centre.

Kokoda acknowledges the work already done but says much more is needed.

"The gap between threat and response capabilities is growing," the report warns.

"If we do not increase our focus on cyberspace, the threat will grow faster than our response and the cost of addressing the growing threat in the future will increase, possibly exponentially."

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