APAC NATIONS OFFERED FREE TRAINING TO COUNTER QUANTUM COMPUTING THREATS

Monash University has teamed up with the Oceania Cyber Security Centre (OCSC) — an organisation established in 2016 by eight Victorian Universities and the Victorian Government to advance cybersecurity education and research in Australia and the IndoPacific — to train organisations across Asia Pacific how to protect information from the threats posed by quantum computing.

They have launched the Post-Quantum Cryptography in the Indo-Pacific Program (PQCIP) through which they will work with organisations and government bodies in Malaysia, Indonesia, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, Federated States of Micronesia, Tuvalu, the Cook Islands and Nauru.

OCSC head of research and capacity building, Dr James Boorman, said the program aimed to give participants advanced understanding of postquantum cryptography, comprehensive knowledge of related tools, and the ability to develop their own transition plan to secure their organisations from quantum computing threats.

“The training will be adapted to fit the local needs, be available online for reference after the course and free for anyone managing or working in IT or cybersecurity within most government entities and organisations in any of the 11 countries, excluding military, intelligence or law-enforcement,” he said.

“Collaboratively standardising and enhancing cybersecurity within these countries will result in stronger relationships and data protection across the entire region.”

Specifically, the program will train cybersecurity and information technology professionals from participating organisations to understand and develop the capability to deploy NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography standards

PQCIP is being funded by the US Department of State and all components will be available to identified participants free of charge. It will run from 2023 to 2025.

Cybersecurity experts from Monash and OCSC will provide participants with an assessment of their current post-quantum cybersecurity capabilities, tailored education, planning and cyber threat evaluation.

According to the program website, “Participants will finish the program with an advanced understanding of post-quantum cryptography challenges, knowledge of the tools to meet them, and [will] develop their own evaluated transition plan for their organisation … Through the course of the program, participants will learn to identify their knowledge gaps and what vulnerabilities against quantum computing attacks already exist in their systems.

Organisations interested in participating in the program are requested to email their name, the name of the organisation they work for and their nationality to pqcip@monash.edu