17 minute read
Forging a Path for Indigenous Australians in Cyber Security
Forging a path for Indigenous Australians in cyber security and defence
More than a decade ago, researcher Aaron Corn coined the term ‘Indigital revolution’ to describe the rapid takeup of technology across Indigenous Australia. Despite continued access issues, Indigenous Australians are highly technologically literate and reportedly use some social media platforms at higher rates than nonIndigenous Australians.
Advertisement
Despite that, there remains significant under-representation of Indigenous Australians in technology and STEM careers, and across the country there’s a patchwork of education initiatives that attempt to increase pathways in the vocational and higher education systems. However, solutions often begin with deficits within communities— the government’s 2020 Closing the Gap report, for example, highlights the lack of maths and science skills.
In a conversation that starts from a different premise, Dion Devow, ASPI’s Indigenous engagement specialist, sat down with Major General Marcus Thompson (Ret’d) and Meg Thompson, ASPI’s first Indigenous research intern, to focus on solutions that highlight the unique perspectives and abilities of First Australians, and that see diversity as a strategic asset.
As noted by Dion, conventional views of literacy fail to account for the fact that in many communities Indigenous Australians are more literate than non-Indigenous Australians, speaking multiple languages and ‘reading’ the land and water in various ways.
Marcus’s career pathway took him to the top ranks of the Australian Defence Force—he retired as the inaugural head of information warfare in the Joint Operations Group. To understand how that became possible, he says, it’s necessary to understand that ‘the ADF is a training organisation. [It] has a core skill in taking someone out of school, off the street, and training that person with skills or a trade within the ADF.’
Marcus has long argued that working in cyber operations is about more than engineering and computer science and favours highlighting the work that can be done by arts graduates in STEM careers.
Cyber capability is often strongly associated with ‘hoodie-wearing geeks tapping away at computers in dark rooms’, he notes. However, he says working in cybersecurity requires a diverse set of skills: ‘intelligence analysts, communications specialists, anthropologists, psychologists, people with legal expertise, people who can craft a message and communicate with leaders’.
The need for diverse skills was the thinking behind the ADF Cyber Gap Program, which was launched in mid2020. The program aims to train people from diverse educational backgrounds in skills relating to cybersecurity, electronic warfare, information warfare and information operations.
‘The last thing we want is groupthink. And the more diverse views that can contribute to decision-making, the better’, Marcus says.
In other words, diversity in organisations can deliver competitive or strategic advantages. Diversity builds resilience by ensuring that many voices shape organisational capabilities and anticipate current and future needs.
When asked why a career in cybersecurity might appeal to young First Australians, Meg explained that her pathway to working in ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre involved reflecting on the importance of cybersecurity in areas that we take for granted. Behind many digital systems there are hidden political and economic issues.
Many Indigenous young people share videos on online platforms such as TikTok. This offers opportunities to share their culture, humour and politics. But those platforms also operate in a space defined by political questions,
Head of Information Warfare for the ADF Major General Marcus Thompson gives a presentation on the Defence's cyberspace operations at Russell Offices, Canberra. Defence image.
Sta ahead o risinn c sts
Sta ahead o risinn c sts
Invest in an APS term investment and earn 4.0%
interest per annum over 24 months.
Invest in an APS term investment and earn 4.0%
.utbenefitsgcaum.com.a
interest per annum over 24 months.
.utbenefitsgcaum.com.a
Since 1905, the APS Benefts
Gr up has supp rted the
fnancial ellbeinn o oer
29,000 members and clients.
Gioe us a call n 1 00 1 1 09
including how intellectual property is regulated, who has control over data, and how content is curated or even censored.
Questions of Indigenous justice are also increasingly relevant in the digital environment. Data or digital sovereignty—how data is controlled and owned by Indigenous communities— has become part of how communities are addressing their economic and social development.
There remain significant barriers to accessing technology in many parts of Australia, but there are also resilience and resourcefulness in communities. In our research at ASPI, we’ve found many examples of achievement by First Australians in technology (both new and old) across the country. Those examples include young Indigenous engineering students attending NASA’s jet propulsion lab in the US, Indigenous start-ups and eduTech companies exposing young people to coding.
When asked what she would say to young Indigenous Australians interested in a career in technology, Meg recommended engaging with community elders: ‘Talk to your elders and understand your culture and history—particularly because you need a sense of yourself; you need an identity within yourself in order to succeed.’
Indigenous elders are the backbone of communities and are the key to engaging communities and enabling young people to turn to non-traditional careers and pathways. In the Warlpiri community of central Australia, for example, Indigenous elders’ centrality to community is demonstrated in the principle of Ngapaji Ngapaji (‘You give, I give’). This principle captures ‘the obligation of elders to teach younger generations their traditional knowledge and the reciprocal obligation of the young to teach their elders how to use the technology to keep their traditions.’
A person’s sense of identity, particularly as a First Australian, needs to be strong to build resilience. This will provide the catalyst for a successful career.
Visit https://www.aspi.org.au/indigicyber-anddefence-program to learn more about our IndigiCyber and Defence Program. Huon Curtis is an analyst and project manager, Dion Devow is an Indigenous engagement specialist and Meg Thompson is a research intern with ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre. Defence image.
RAAF JOINS UNITED STATES AND JAPAN FOR EXERCISE COPE NORTH 21
The RAAF recently deployed two aircraft and approximately 170 personnel to Guam to enhance trilateral interoperability with the United States and Japan as part of Exercise Cope North 21.
Exercise Cope North is a longstanding combined military exercise which aims to improve combat readiness, develop humanitarian assistance procedures, and build common understanding between the United States, Australia and Japan.
Group Captain (GPCAPT) Nathan Christie, Australian Commander for Exercise Cope North 21, said the exercise had proven to be an effective way to strengthen the trilateral military partnership, and increase the complexity of combined activities.
“More than 2000 military personnel and approximately 95 aircraft from the Royal Australian Air Force, United States Air Force, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force participated in this exercise,” GPCAPT Christie said.
“Australian personnel are drawn from across Air Force with elements of Surveillance and Response Group, Air Mobility Group, and Combat Support Group participating.
“An E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft, KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport, and a Contingency Response Squadron have also deployed to the exercise.
“The first week focussed on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercises and strike mission training, while the second week focussed on air combat tactics and large force employment training.”
The Exercise Cope North 21 scenario developed coalition procedures in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and air power missions, including air superiority, close air support, interdiction, electronic warfare, tactical air mobility, and airborne command and control.
The health and safety of all Australian Defence Force personnel on exercise is paramount.
There are a range of measures in place that ensure the risk of contracting COVID-19 are minimised. A COVID-19 response was agreed to by all nations participating in Exercise Cope North.
Mitigation measures included all RAAF personnel returning a negative COVID-19 test result before deploying on the exercise, restricted movements and only necessary interactions with other participants. Other COVIDSafe behaviours, such as regular temperature checks, mask wearing and physical distancing will also be implemented.
To ensure the safety of the Australian community, all ADF personnel returning from overseas are required to complete mandatory state or territory quarantine, in line with other returning Australians. Their release from quarantine is
contingent on the testing requirements of the jurisdictions they isolate in.
The exercise was held at Andersen Air Force Base from 3 to 19 February 2021.This is the eleventh time Australia participated in Exercise Cope North.
A No. 77 Squadron F/A-18A Hornet comes in to land at, Guam during Exercise Cope North 20. Defence image.
War in space would be a catastrophe
A return to rules-based cooperation is the only way to keep space peaceful
In 2019, US President Donald Trump declared “space is the new war-fighting domain”. This followed the creation of the US Space Force and a commitment to “American dominance” in outer space.
Other space-faring nations, and those who fear the acceleration of an arms race in space, were greatly concerned. At the latest meeting of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, states noted with alarm that “preventing conflicts in outer space and preserving outer space for peaceful purposes” is more necessary than ever.
Joe Biden as the current US president and Kamala Harris as vicepresident suggests there is cause for hope. The future of space may look more like the recent launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station.
Onboard were US and Japanese astronauts, who joined Russian and US crew already living aboard the ISS. As the Falcon 9 rocket soared into space, the collaborative, cooperative and commercial nature of space was once again clear for all to see.
Cooperation, not confrontation
The Biden-Harris administration appears more interested in international cooperation, and much more cognisant of the challenges of climate change, pandemics and other global issues.
A carefully calibrated space policy can do much to address “terrestrial” challenges, while still allowing for many positive space activities.
Since 1967, human activity in space has been guided by the universally accepted principles embedded in the Outer Space Treaty. This has ensured we have had no military conflict in space and required the exploration and use of space “for the benefit and in the interests of all countries”.
Any alternative vision of the future of space is dreadful to consider. Rhetoric about the inevitability of “war in space” makes such conflict more likely and risks a “tragedy of the commons” in space.
Any space war would have no clear winner. In a complex, globally shared arena such as space, it is important that states abide by accepted rules and established practices.
The US has great scientific and technological advantages and a robust and competitive commercial space sector. Instead of seeking dominance, it can better serve the world (and itself) by focusing its leadership on harnessing space for the benefit of all humankind.
In a promising sign, Biden and Harris’s NASA review team is composed of an outstanding group of space scientists as well as a former astronaut.
The current administration reestablished the National Space Council, which is chaired by the vice president, and this has reinvigorated American investment and leadership in space exploration. This includes an ambitious plan to return to the Moon under the terms of the Artemis Accords.
Respect the rules
To ensure the fragile and shared domain of outer space does not become an arena for conflict, the rules that apply to any military uses of space need to be understood, respected and further developed. Failure to do so could lead to devastation, disruption and impact on civilian lives, particularly in the largest and most powerful countries like the US, whose economies and societies are heavily dependent on space infrastructure. Their access to space has given them the greatest competitive advantage, but they are therefore the most vulnerable if that access is compromised.
Space is a congested, contested and competitive area where scientific, commercial and economic interests converge, as well as military and national security concerns. In this sense space is like the radio frequency spectrum, which has been successfully regulated and managed for decades under international rules adopted through the International Telecommunication Union.
But space is also much more. As the recent Crew-1 mission demonstrated, there are significant benefits when nations come together and cooperate. Enlightened leadership, guided by commonly agreed laws and practices and a recognition that we share outer space as custodians for future generations, is the only realistic way forward.
Steven Freeland Professor of International Law, Western Sydney University David Kuan-Wei Chen Executive Director, Centre for Research in Air and Space Law, McGill University Ram S. Jakhu Director, Institute of Air and Space Law, McGill University The Conversation.
Astronaut Soichi Noguchi is greeted by astronaut Kate Rubins as he enters the International Space Station from the vestibule between the SpaceX Dragon capsule and the ISS. NASA
Looking to build? Look no further than a McCloy Community in Port Stephens!
Often buyers assume building a brandnew home is beyond their budget or something for later in life.
However new residential communities are providing buyers with the opportunity to build their dream home much earlier and more affordably than first thought.
Hunter based property company the McCloy Group create national award winning masterplanned communities. They have a true passion for developing quality and sustainable environments in which people love to live and 3 are located in Port Stephens, just minutes from Williamtown RAAF base!
In Medowie, for instance, you can now find homesites up to 853 square meters, still nearby both Newcastle CBD and the beaches of Port Stephens. The Bower is a residential community in Medowie that spans across 57 hectares, the remaining 70 hectares will be preserved as state conservation area and open space, including the Bower Reserve, a 1-hectare park and playground facility. Proving to be popular, the first two stages sold out in the first 48 hours on the market. Following suit, the community’s popularity has continued with more and more residents moving into the area after seeing The Bower’s modern setting that still offers a bushland outlook and plenty of space build their brand-new homes.
“We couldn't be more excited to build our forever home in The Bower. McCloy Group have given us a wonderful opportunity to raise a family on a large block of land in a beautiful, picturesque estate.” Phillip & Emma Longuet, Residents at The Bower McCloy Group’s Project Director, James Goode believes homesites have the best of both worlds in Port Stephens with untouched beaches to the north, the vineyards to the west and Lake Macquarie to the south, all within an easy hour drive to Newcastle’s CBD and other work opportunities.
“You no longer have to wait for retirement or move far away from the conveniences of city living to be able to enjoy owning your own new home. Now you can within 20-40 minutes of Newcastle’s CBD and beaches and more affordably in some cases than purchasing an existing home” said Mr. Goode.
Also, in Medowie is The Gardens, a boutique offering first launched in 2020. The Gardens popularity soared with future residents so eager to secure a homesite they camped in advance. The Gardens is located closer to town and the RAAF base and is the epitome of quality, boasting manicured gardens, a statement entry feature and public art along with children’s play equipment, all of this within a 5-minute walk to local schools, shops and public amenity.
Nearby in Raymond Terrace is Potter’s Lane another McCloy residential community which conveys affordability with a convenient location just 15 minutes to local employment opportunities, 20 minutes from the Williamstown RAAF base and 35 minutes to Newcastle. This community is growing rapidly since its launch in 2016, with local residents pleased with the progression of the community.
“The McCloy Group created a warm and inviting community environment. The inclusion of the wonderful playground, beautiful trees and grassed areas at the beginning of the development was one of the main reasons we decided to make this area our home. We would have absolutely no
hesitation in recommending the McCloy Group to anyone wishing to build a new home in one of their estates.” Karen Humphris, resident of Potter’s Lane added.
With housing affordability pricing many out of the market, especially in the cities, buyers are often pleasantly surprised at how affordable building a new home in Port Stephens can be. Potter’s Lane currently offers a 4- bedroom house land package from as low as $578,091 with renown builders Perry Homes. This home comes complete with 2 bathrooms, double garage, open plan living, dining and kitchen spilling effortlessly onto an outdoor entertaining area all set on a 637m2 block. Surprising isn’t it! Team this with impressive Government
Grants, all time low interest rates and builder incentives and you have the perfect market to secure land for your own dream home.
When considering Port Stephens for your new home, a tour of the McCloy Communities is a must. Future residents can expect the highest quality of living environments, as McCloy Group place a strong emphasis on vibrant public art and aesthetically pleasing streetscapes. They build children’s parks, playgrounds and cycleways, and plant mature trees. Dedicated open space for families to enjoy is a must within McCloy communities.
For more information about McCloy Group and their residential communities visit mccloygroup.com.au/hunter-landfor-sale
GRAHAMSTOWN DAM
MEDOWIE PUBLIC SCHOOL
FERODALE ROAD
RAAF BASE 10 MINS
THE BOWER
MEDOWIE STATE CONSERVATION AREA
BOUNDARY ROAD
SHOPS
MEDOWIE ROAD MEDOWIE
WIRREANDA PUBLIC SCHOOL
MEDOWIE MACADAMIA FARM
Indigenous WWII pilot Len Waters honoured at Williamtown RAAF Base
Williamtown RAAF Base has been undergoing one of the biggest transformations seen since World War II - $1.8 billion works associated with 24 projects.
Some of those projects, costing $270 million, have recently been completed.
They include the two new base entrances on Medowie Road, underground engineering works, refurbishment of two buildings for No. 4 and No. 26 Squadrons, a new 250-seat auditorium and commercial area with barber, hairdresser, two banks and dry cleaners, and the Len Waters Building.
Group Captain Peter Cluff hosted the opening ceremony of the Len Waters Building, a five-storey office block providing state-of-the-art facilities to approximately 1000 staff, last October.
A Welcome to Country was performed by Worimi elder Uncle John Ridgeway. GPCAPT Cluff rated the structure, fittings, layout and the indigenous artwork and displays as "first class". "Leonard Waters was Australia's only known indigenous fighter pilot during World War II. But Len's dreams of flying started well before enlisting in the Royal Australian Air Force in August 1942," he said. "Len, a Kamilaroi man, initially trained as an aircraft mechanic. His long held ambition to fly was recognised in 1943 when he commenced flying training in Tiger Moths and Wirraways before earning his wings and joining No. 78 Squadron in 1944 where he went on to fly the Kittyhawk aircraft. "During nine months of active service, Len Waters flew a total of 95 sorties before discharging from service in January 1946 with the rank of temporary Warrant Officer."
Despite the fact that Len was never based at Williamtown, GPCAPT Cluff said it was appropriate that he be recognised as the Air Force's only indigenous fighter pilot and to have his memory honoured at Defence's premier fighter base.
The 21,000sqm building comprises 26 conference and meeting rooms varying in size from six to 50 seat capacity; six dedicated computer training rooms; multiple breakout rooms on each floor; two family/breastfeeding rooms; two first aid rooms; waste optimisation program; state-of-the-art security and fire suppression systems; drying and locker rooms; and 24 hours access.
There is also Worimi storytelling graphically represented in artwork by Melissa Lilley and Saretta Fielding, photographs of long term local residents and historical photography of the base.
Additional adjacent buildings include a brand new facility with retail tenants including Defence Bank, Australian Military Bank, hairdresser and drycleaner, a 250-seat auditorium and 800 carpark spaces. Charlie Elias
Hair Craft Salon
960 McNamara Drive RAAF Base Williamtown NSW 2314 0240347632
haircraftsalon.com.au | office@haircraftsalon.com.au
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE RAAF FOR 100 YEARS OF SERVICE TO AUSTRALIA
