2016 DEFENCE WHITE PAPER

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CHAPTER TWO: STRATEGIC OUTLOOK
SECTION ONE STRATEGY
2.51 Cyber threats also have impacts well beyond Defence, with the potential
to attack other Australian government agencies, all sectors of Australia’s
economy and critical infrastructure and, in the case of state actors,
conduct state-based espionage including against Australian defence
industry. The Australian Signals Directorate detected over 1,200 cyber
security incidents in 2015, including attacks on government agencies
and non-government sectors. Australian defence industry was one of
the key non-government sectors targeted in that period, along with
energy, banking and financial services, communications and transport.
Cyber attacks also threaten Australia’s secure access to the global
communications system which is critical to Australia’s prosperity.
2.52 The next 20 years will see the continuing expansion of space-based and
space-enabled capabilities, including military capabilities.
2.53 The ADF and our partners are reliant on space-based satellite systems to
support our networked capabilities and to communicate and fight when
deployed on operations. Some countries are developing capabilities to
target satellites to destroy these systems or degrade their capabilities,
threatening our networks.
2.54 Space-based capabilities also offer potential state adversaries advanced
information gathering opportunities, including imagery gathering. The
availability of commercial space-based systems also means that smaller
countries, private interests and non-state actors can access sensitive
information about our security arrangements, such as imagery of
Defence bases.
2.55 To ensure the security of our space-enabled capabilities, the
Government will strengthen Defence’s space surveillance and situational
awareness capabilities, including through the space surveillance radar
operated jointly by Australia and the United States, and the relocation
of a United States optical space surveillance telescope to Australia.