REDSPICE Enhanced Cyber Security

The recently announced REDSPICE project, which stands for Resilience, Effects, Defense, Space, Intelligence, Cyber, Enablers, is the most significant investment in Australian cyber security in the last 75 years. Announced as part of the federal budget and with $9.9 billion of funding allocated to the project over the next 10 years, the program aims to bolster Australia’s cyber security capabilities and threat protection in what has become an increasingly hostile cyber environment.

Let us explore exactly what REDSPICE is, how it works and what benefits the program will have on Australia’s cyber environment including the benefits for industry and business.

What is REDSPICE

With an intended tripling of the ASD’s (Australian Signals Directorate), cyber offensive capabilities and the doubling of its persistent hunt capabilities, REDSPICE aims to keep Australia safe from cyber threats occurring within the Indo-Pacific Region. REDSPICE recognises “the deteriorating strategic circumstances in our region, characterised by rapid military expansion, growing coercive behaviour and increased cyber-attacks.”

Australia has not been alone in the prioritising and enhancement of national cyber security capabilities, with a number of overseas governments and partners pursuing similar routes and agendas in recent times for example the UK. The announcement of REDSPICE has come off the back of a recent meeting between the Quad Senior Cyber Group which consists of the US, Australian Japan and India.

Why REDSPICE

With a number of challenges in the modern cyber world, including an increase in threats from both state and non-state perpetrators alike, REDSPICE aims to counter these threats. Current regional and global cyberspace challenges include:

• Strategic competition continues to increase - with the increase in global strategic competition and shifting regional dynamics, there continues to be a greater potential risk on Australia’s interests and potential cyber attacks on vulnerable infrastructure
• Cyber capabilities continue to increase - some countries and non-state powers are willing to use cyber capabilities for malicious purposes such as the spread of disinformation and attempts at economic de-stability
• Coercive activities are being used - some countries are pursuing their strategic interests through coercive activities such as cyber espionage and interference
• Grey-zone activities are being adopted - grey-zone cyber activities are having an impact on Australia’s national security interests
• Regional and major global powers are being more assertive - some of world’s major powers are seeking influence across the Indo-Pacific region through cyber activities
• Military modernisation is accelerating - there has been a rapid modernisation in military technology and equipment in the Indo-Pacific region with new and advanced threats emerging on a regular basis

With this rapidly advancing technological landscape and deterioration of the strategic environment, there is an increased demand for innovation, creativity, and determination to focus on the increased importance of cyber security and the impact it can have on overall national security including that of private enterprise.

REDSPICE Initiatives & Goals

The REDSPICE project is designed to achieve the following 5 broad goals in an effort to enhance Australia's cyber security capabilities and cyber offensive capabilities:

• The scaling of various cyber effects and capabilities
• The development of new cyber intelligence gathering capabilities
• Enhancing Australia’s cyber defence capabilities
• Increased resilience and redundancy in the online environment
• The improvement of foundational cyber technologies

The above 5 goals will be achieved through the actions as outlined in the REDSPICE blueprint, which consists of the following actions;

Scaled Cyber Effects

• Triple the offensive cyber effects capabilities to support the Australian Defence Force (ADF)
• Supporting the integration of the ADF’s information warfare and cyber workforce
• Deepened and enhanced technology cooperation and information sharing with strategic allies and partners
• A contribution to an integrated deterrence model

Developing New Intelligence Capabilities

• Enhanced intelligence capabilities that help prevent strategic surprise, inform decisions of consequence and minimise miscalculation
• Increased and improved understanding of adversaires capabilities, intent and decision-making processes and outcomes
• An increase in the size of the analytics workforce (aim to double in size)

Enhanced National Cyber Defence

• Improved resilience of critical infrastructure against sophisticated and increased cyber attacks
• Increasing the visibility of threats to Australia’s most critical systems
• Improved and increased machine-time cyber threat intelligence sharing across government and industry
• The doubling of persistent/ always on cyber-hunt activities and nationwide cyber-incident response

Increased Resilience & Redundancy

• An increased resilience of classified communications capabilities
• The creation of redundancy in critical capabilities through national and international dispersal
• Employing 40% of the ASD outside of Canberra
• Increasing Australia’s overseas footprint fourfold

Improved Foundational Technologies

• Delivering new cloud-based cyber and intelligence systems and applications
• The scaling of AI and machine learning capabilities
• The delivering of AI-supported offensive and defensive abilities

Connections

The REDSPICE project will involve a number of connections and partnerships from government, industry, the public sector and alliances among others. These connections and partnerships will include:

National Intelligence Community

• A coordinated approach to workforce growth
• New cloud capabilities
• New national facilities

Public

• An enhanced resilience in protecting national critical infrastructure
• New employment opportunities nationally and globally

Industry

• An estimated $5 billion in opportunities for Australian industry and business
• An increased focus on sovereign capability
• Expanded partnerships with business and industry
• New higher education partnerships
• Investment in key sectors including AI, Cyber, ICT and Engineering

5-Eyes

• A greater integration with the 5-eyes partnership through an expanded global network
• Co-investment in 5-eyes initiatives
• Collaboration on AI and cyber technologies

ADF

• Improved intelligence support to the ADF
• Enhanced offensive cyber capabilities to support the ADF
• Integration with ADF information warfare workforce

REDSPICE Initiatives

The blueprint from the ASD for REDSPICE sets out a number of the key initiatives of the projects with the goal of increasing Australia’s offensive and defensive cyber capabilities. These initiatives include:

• The investment of $9.9 billion over the next decade in cyber security and intelligence capabilities
• A growth in the workforce of 1,900 people over the next decade
• Growing, delivering and improving asymmetric strike capabilities and offensive cyber capabilities for the ADF
• Enabling next generation data science and AI capabilities
• Enhancing intelligence capabilities
• Improving core ASD resilience by bolstering the national and international footprint
• Providing opportunities for Australian industry including cyber, ICT, and cloud computing and enabling services with an estimated $5 billion in opportunities

The Benefits of REDSPICE to Industry & Business

With one of the key initiatives of REDSPICE being the “provision of opportunities for Australian industry, including cyber, ICT, and cloud computing and enabling services” ', the project will provide an estimated $5 billion in opportunities to Australian industry and businesses, including small and medium enterprises as well as larger-scale enterprise businesses. REDSPICE will rely on expertise and technology including strategic partnerships with industry to deliver solutions, with the private sector more than likely striving to lift cybersecurity capabilities inline with the government's increased capabilities.

Some examples of industry and business strategic partnerships and opportunities will include:

• Software enabled capabilities to prevent network exploitation and deliver network effects
• ICT programs and cloud technologies, including multi-classification
• Delivery of facilities and office fit outs
• New and hardened secure comms systems
• The delivery of workforce planning, recruitment and training
• Program management, change and transformation management
• ITC hardware infrastructure
• AI and machine learning technology and data services

Conclusion

With the investment in the REDSPICE project and investment of the Australian government in cybersecurity and threat protection, there will be an increased push from private industry to further enhance these capabilities. At Canary Technology Solutions we specialise in various cybersecurity services including; Cyber Security Assessments, Endpoint Protection, Network Security, Cloud Security and Managed Detection & Response. Contact us for all your cybersecurity needs and let us be your cyber security partner for today and tomorrow; empowering you to achieve great things, securely.

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