Editor's Desk "China wants nothing less than to push the US from the Western Pacific and attempt to prevent us from coming to the aid of our allies. But they will fail” - US Vice President Mike Pence in his October 4 speech at The Hudson Institute, Washington, D.C
T
he security domain remains all encompassing, dictated by the context of the risk or threat. For the Australian security industry, the context should always be viewed internally and externally. Internal factors include, naturally, the needs and direction of the client organisation as well as the domestic threat environment and governance of the industry. However, externally, the macro factors of technological change, globalisation of supply chains and major power geo-politics in our region cannot be ignored. It would seem security advisors, directors, managers and government legislators need to get to a state of readiness for War. And consider for a moment the implications if we were ever to lose, There is little point in waiting for it to happen before planning and preparing, or worse, assuming it won't happen. Indeed, in a cyber security context, with the five eye nations now openly attributing cyber attacks against Russia and China, and Australia blocking Chinese technology companies from expanding in the market, the cyber war has already been declared. This is amidst so many other streams of dispute, including the unblinking rises in the ‘trade war’ and to concerning naval manoeuvres between China and US warships in the South China Sea. The West, including Australia, simply does not trust China. And the US is preparing itself for a serious fight. The 2018 Pentagon Report to Congress on China, stated “China’s military modernization targets capabilities with the potential to degrade core U.S. operational and technological advantages. To support this modernization, China uses a variety of methods to acquire foreign military and dual use technologies, including targeted foreign direct investment, cyber theft, and exploitation of private Chinese nationals’ access to these technologies. Several recent cases and indictments illustrate China’s use of intelligence services, computer intrusions, and other illicit approaches to obtain national security and exportrestricted technologies, controlled equipment, and other materials.” Mike Pence also raised an initiative that should concern Australia’s free society intimately. “By 2020, China’s rulers aim to implement an
Orwellian system premised on controlling virtually every facet of human life - the so-called “Social Credit Score.” In the words of that program’s official blueprint, it will “allow the trustworthy to roam everywhere under heaven, while making it hard for the discredited to take a single step.” Mike Pence continued, “Through the “Made in China 2025” plan, the Communist Party has set its sights on controlling 90 percent of the world’s most advanced industries, including robotics, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence. To win the commanding heights of the 21st century economy, Beijing has directed its bureaucrats and businesses to obtain American intellectual property –- the foundation of our economic leadership -– by any means necessary. Beijing now requires many American businesses, [and by default, Australian businesses] to hand over their trade secrets as the cost of doing business in China. It also coordinates and sponsors the acquisition of American firms to gain ownership of their creations. Worst of all, Chinese security agencies have masterminded the wholesale theft of American technology –- including cutting-edge military blueprints. And using that stolen technology, the Chinese Communist Party is turning ploughshares into swords on a massive scale.” Whilst the US and China continue along the Cold War path, ominous warnings are also explicitly being made from Israel against Iran. Efraim Inbar is the president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies and has warned “ Israel has no choice but to wage war against Iranian entrenchment in Syria.” In the absence of a clear American or Turkish determination to confront Iranian encroachment, only Israel has the power to stop it…As the international community, including the US, has no appetite for a military confrontation with Iran, it is left to Israel to prevent its nuclearization. The only way to do it is by brute force, adding a new dimension to the war conducted already against Iran. This is an inevitable imperative for Jerusalem.” Any war involving Israel has global ramifications and should therefore be factored into an Australian context by local security advisors. Following the Bloomberg report “The Big
Hack”, Tony Campbell provides a timely article on supply chain attacks and how “more often than not, it’s easier for attackers to target your downstream suppliers and/or service providers, since you are likely to trust their products and services as being safe and secure.” Tony writes, “It might sound like fiction, but NSA documents released in Glen Greenwald’s book, No Place to Hide, show how the NSA’s Tailored Access Operations (TAO) unit intercepts computer and networking equipment being shipped to organisations they want under surveillance.” China, which by some estimates makes 75 percent of the world’s mobile phones and 90 percent of its PCs is now accused of doing much the same, with installed micro-processers in a comprehensive ‘seeding attack’. Deborah Evans also provides yet another insightful biosecurity article and discusses the importance of broad-spectrum Biological Protection for the survival of mankind and with continued outbreaks becoming increasingly apparent. Progressive biodefence concepts incorporate protection from biological threats of a diverse nature, including those from naturally occurring, accidental and deliberate sources. Subsequently, biodefence concepts transcend military discourse and extend across disciplines and sectors. Whilst our Singapore Correspondent Jane Lo provides an ideal segway with her article which links SARS to Cryptocurrency and the need for an understanding of the diverse risks faced by an organisation being a key aspect of planning – reflecting the theme of the ARRC 2018 “Corporate Governance, Risk & Resilience Planning in Action’ Conference.’ And on that note, as always, we provide plenty of thought provoking material and there is so much more to touch on. Stay tuned with us as we continue to explore, educate, entertain and most importantly, engage. Sincerely, Chris Cubbage CPP, CISA, RSecP,
Australian Security Magazine | 5