Insider

Welcome to the first issue of GovTech Review for 2023. The summer break may now be a distant memory, but there is plenty going on in the world of technology and government already this year with security, in particular, remaining a predictably hot topic.

Major international incidents like foreign ‘spy’ balloons being shot out of US and Canadian airspace — and subsequent sightings of similar objects over China — are fuelling the fire when it comes to security, surveillance and intrusion prevention. Critical infrastructure globally is seen as an increasingly significant target for cybercriminals and nation-state threat actors seeking maximum impact, while hybrid and remote work models look set to stay for a while at least, effectively expanding the attack surface and allowing for exploitation of new vulnerabilities.

We’ll no doubt look back at 2023 and recognise it as a turning point, where the acceleration of digital transformation exposed organisations and government agencies to heightened risk of attack and opened new avenues for intrusion, while machine learning, AI and automation were deployed to varying success on both sides of the field. All this, while still deep in the midst of an ongoing tech skills shortage coupled with a worsening threat of economic downturn. Once again, organisations across both the public and private sectors are being asked to derive more from less.

Well, out of adversity comes opportunity, as the saying goes. Technology is being employed in myriad ways, empowering government to address skills shortages, improve customer service delivery and to develop the levels of agility, security and resilience required to effectively meet the needs of its citizens in a continually shifting threat landscape. For every problem or business challenge, multiple solutions arise and, in some cases, those solutions can even solve a seemingly infinite number of problems — ChatGPT comes to mind.

We may live in challenging times, but that also delivers some of the most exciting technology developments and milestones. While that often comes with a degree of discomfort caused by change and disruption, it also leads to smarter, faster and more efficient ways of doing things — and who could argue with that?

I hope you enjoy this issue of the magazine.

Dannielle Furness, Editor editor@govtechreview.com.au

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