Communications Critical Infrastructure Resilience
The department participates in the Australian Government's Critical Infrastructure Resilience (CIR) activities through the Trusted Information Sharing Network (TISN) for Critical Infrastructure Resilience.
The TISN, which is led by the Attorney-General's Department, is a forum in which the owners and operators of critical infrastructure work together with the government to share information on security issues relevant to the protection of our critical infrastructure and the continuity of the essential services in the face of all hazards. It is made up of seven Sector Groups (SGs), two Expert Advisory Groups (EAGs), Communities of Interest (CoI) and the Critical Infrastructure Advisory Council (CIAC).
CIAC, as the peak body of TISN, oversees the IAAGs along with the EAGs and provides advice to the Attorney-General on the national approach to CIR.
Under the TISN, the department provides secretariat support to the Communications Sector Group (CSG) and the IT Security Expert Advisory Group (ITSEAG) and its working group, the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Community of Interest (SCADA CoI).
The CSG brings together owners and operators of Australia's critical infrastructure in the telecommunications, international submarine cables, postal and broadcasting sectors. Within these sectors, the department promotes CIR, improves industry coordination, and contributes to the activities of the CIAC, the National Counter Terrorism Committee and other related groups.
The ITSEAG is made up of academic specialists, vendors, consultants and some industry association representatives who are leaders in the information technology/e-security field. The ITSEAG looks at issues of vulnerabilities in the IT related areas of CIR in an effort to better inform CIAC and the sectors of possible risks and response strategies.
The ITSEAG has developed reports on a range of IT security issues for owners and operators of critical infrastructure. These reports are often supplemented by summaries specifically written for chief executive officers and chief information officers. Please see the resources on the the key documents page.
The SCADA CoI, a working-group formed by the ITSEAG in 2005, provides a trusted environment for organisations within critical infrastructure to share information on security issues, encouraging collaboration and sharing of information to improve the resilience of SCADA systems.
With support of the ITSEAG and critical infrastructure funding from the Australian Government, the SCADA CoI is active in developing projects to address cyber security issues faced by member organisations. The CoI importantly provides a peer-to-peer industry sector forum for sharing information and solutions both locally and internationally. Key sectors include water, electricity, gas, transport, broadcasting and telecommunications.
Members of TISN groups, including the SCADA CoI, who have appropriate confidentiality agreements in place, have access to a secure member’s area of the TISN website. It includes information on past meetings and events as well as limited distribution documents, such as the SCADA Risk Management Framework.
For further information regarding the CSG, ITSEAG or the SCADA CoI, please contact the Secretariat on 02 6271 1595.
