DHS holds third Cyber War Games

The Department of Human Services last week held Operation Tsunami, its third annual Cyber War Games.

Operation Tsunami brought together security professionals from 14 organisations, including representatives from the energy, retail, finance and telecoms sectors, to attempt to wipe out a fictional Lego city on the Department’s cyber range.

Minister for Government Services Stuart Robert said the initiative was aimed at building vital security skills and fostering collaboration across the Australian cybersecurity community.

“The games [saw] competitors use the very cyber warfare tactics they work hard to fight against in their day-to-day roles.”

He said the Cyber War Games initiative imparts participants with “real-time, valuable experience in identifying and responding to national security level threats”.

During his commencement speech for the event, Robert noted that the Department of Human Services will pay out $174 billion to residents over the next 12 months, with hundreds of thousands of transactions taking place every day. This gives the department the same scale as a mid-tier bank.

“I recognise that network systems mean my Department cannot act alone in dealing with cybercriminals or building our defences,” he said.

“This is why this event is all about bringing representatives from across government and the private sector — including leading organisations in energy, retail, finance and telecommunications — together. Participants will get real-time, valuable experience in identifying and responding to national security level threats.”

Image credit: ©iStockphoto.com/Brendan Hunter