Author: Abigail Masters, RMIT
The lack of attention given to media literacy and misinformation by government stakeholders may grow to be one of the biggest national security failures of the 21st Century. Australia is currently playing catch up to address strategic cyber-threats but has failed to meaningfully mitigate the danger of misinformation in Australian digital spaces.
Continue reading “Australia is not prepared for an infodemic“
Author: Kearly Schirrman, Australian Crisis Simulation Summit
In the digital age, telecommunications have become part of our everyday lives. They play a central role in our communication with others, development of our services and integration of policies and laws. But this has simultaneously inspired their misuse, visible in issues like the rise of online extremism, cyber-attacks and coordination of transnational drug dealing.
Continue reading “The ethical dilemma of online surveillance“
Author: Helen Argyris, University of Melbourne
Our world is becoming more competitive and contested, extending its geopolitical challenges from Earth to outer space. Since World War 2, states have increasingly recognised the benefits and risks that outer space might pose to national security, prosperity, and international diplomacy.
Continue reading “The contested geopolitics of outer space“
Author: Jessie Storey, University of Queensland
On September 10 2001, the US National Security Agency (NSA) intercepted intelligence of two Arabic messages sent between individuals with ‘terrorist connections’. On September 11 2001, two planes hijacked by terrorist group Al Qaeda flew into the Twin Towers in New York City, killing nearly 3000 people. On September 12 2001, the messages were translated, one day too late.
Continue reading “The security risks of Australia’s language disadvantage“
Author: Paul Sigar
Although there weren’t any foreign interference or malicious cyber-activities that affected the integrity of the 2019 Federal elections, this may change in the coming years. Australia can expect disinformation campaigns perpetuated by Chinese state actors, similar to those that target Chinese diaspora in North America, to reach its shores — only more sophisticated and covert.
Continue reading “How can Australia respond to China’s disinformation campaign?“
Author: Ben Johnstone, ANU
The European Union (EU) has recently shown increased interest in the Indo-Pacific. From new bilateral partnerships to a new Indo-Pacific Strategy, the region is finally receiving Brussel’s attention. China’s challenge to the global order through projects like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has caused alarm among European leaders and the recently re-emerged Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) must seize opportunities to work with Europe if it is to maintain the existing rules-based order.
Continue reading “European Union–Quad collaboration towards a ‘Free and Open’ Indo-Pacific“
Author: Anastasia Kalloniati, ANU
Negative perceptions of international security and relations between global powers are steadily rising with mounting tensions between the United States (US) and China. In this fearful climate, we need to look deeper at crises that had the potential to be devastating to better tackle those that may arise in the future. The EP-3 crisis is a fascinating case that fits this description.
Continue reading “Lessons in crisis management: the EP-3 crisis”
Author: Stephan Robin, University of Adelaide
As Australia becomes increasingly dependent on satellite infrastructure, the threat posed by cyberattacks in space must be consciously addressed as a national security priority.
Continue reading “Why Australia must improve its cyber space defence capabilities”
Author: Krystal Ha, University of Melbourne
When COVID-19 swept across the globe many described it as ‘unprecedented.’ It seemed out of the blue, with the idea of widespread lockdowns, extensive hotel quarantine programs and travel bans alien to all Australians. In government, it was the same — still reeling from bushfires across Australia, the state and federal governments scrambled from one extreme crisis to the next. However, the possibility of a pandemic has been glaring in our faces for decades.
Continue reading “The future of ‘unprecedented’ events“
Author: Fiona Ballentine, ANU
Australia has failed to acknowledge that it has an right-wing extremism problem that is being exacerbated by the Internet and COVID-19. The difficulty in combatting the issue has lies in the role of social media as an instrument for radicalisation. In tackling COVID-19, Australia’s crisis response is lacking a crucial component — it has not fully understood the expansion of violent extremism narratives as part of its disaster response.
Continue reading “COVID-19 has worsened Australia’s right-wing extremism problem”
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