Australia, US armies collaborate on cyberwar training


By Dylan Bushell-Embling
Friday, 11 December, 2020

Australia, US armies collaborate on cyberwar training

The Australian and US armies have signed a joint agreement to develop a virtual cyber training range for real-world defensive missions.

The two nations have signed a Cyber Training Capabilities Project Arrangement, a bilateral, international agreement that will enable US Cyber Command to incorporate Australian Defence Force feedback into USCYBERCOM’s simulated training domain PCTE (the Persistent Cyber Training Environment).

The PCTE, which delivered its first production version this year, is designed as a distributed, secure, reconfigurable environment for conducting independent cyber operations training activities.

The long-term goal is to provide the US Department of Defense cyberspace workforce the capability to build and conduct full-spectrum, combined and joint cyberspace training, exercises, certification and mission rehearsal in a training environment.

Australian Army Maj. Gen. Marcus Thompson, Head of Information Warfare at the ADF, said the agreement marks the first cyber-only arrangement established between the US Army and an allied nation.

“Australia and the US have a strong history of working together to develop our cyber capabilities and train our people to fight and win in cyberspace,” he said.

“This arrangement will be an important part of the ADF’s training program, and we look forward to the mutual benefits it will bring.”

Image: (Left to right) U.S. Navy Programs Manager, Lt. Cmdr. Mike Tomsik and Australian Army Colonel Hamish Ashman watch as Head Information Warfare Australian Army Major General Marcus Thompson signs a cyber training agreement between Australia and the United States at Russell Offices on 3 November 2020. Courtesy US Cyber Command.

Related News

Half of government agencies falling short on email security measures: report

Lack of consistency across Australian Government bodies leaves critical vulnerabilities in the...

CISA and Microsoft warn of “active attacks” on SharePoint

Alerts have been published active attacks exploiting a remote code execution vulnerability in...

NSW Government agencies have ineffective cybersecurity controls: report

The Audit Office of New South Wales has found that NSW Government agencies still have minimal...


  • All content Copyright © 2025 Westwick-Farrow Pty Ltd