Page 14 - Cyber Warnings

accurately identify growth areas to plan services, such as new hospitals and schools for
example. Traditionally delivered in paper-form to households across the country, in recent years
the “eCensus” has appeared, and last year it was heavily promoted as being the preferred way
for all citizens to participate. As you might imagine, it’s a privacy nightmare in terms of public
perception.

To make matters worse, on the evening of 9 August 2016 (“Census Night”) when many
Australian citizens sat in front of their computers to complete the somewhat lengthy survey
online, they were confronted with a website that simply didn’t work – the apparent cause: a
massive (and somewhat predictable) DDoS attack. Pandemonium ensued and a media frenzy
erupted with the Australian Prime Minister promising a full investigation.

By October (just two months after the incident) Australia’s newly appointed Special Adviser to
the Prime Minister on Cyber Security, Mr. Alastair MacGibbon (also attending the ACSC 2017
conference), released a review of the events surrounding the 2016 eCensus. Among a long list
of compounding errors, it was identified that the “DDoS protections for the eCensus were
inadequate”.

During the conference, AFP’s manager of cybercrime operations, Mr. David McLean said they
were getting closer to who was behind the eCensus DDoS attacks stating there were some
“very recent interesting developments deep within that”. Meanwhile as you might expect, the
rest of us are eagerly awaiting the final results, to be released when the investigation concludes.

The importance of diversity in Cyber Security
One of the pleasing themes now popular at many cyber security events, and certainly visible at
ACSC 2017, was the strong support for having more women attendees. In fact, the organizers
arranged a dedicated “Women Practitioner Networking Event” on the end of the first day.

By all accounts it was a great success, and I look forward to a day when the current cyber
industry gender imbalance starts paying dividends with the addition of more brilliant minds to
what continues to be a challenging and demanding industry for us all.

About The Author
Michael McKinnon, Director – Commercial Services
Sense of Security (https://www.senseofsecurity.com.au)/

Michael McKinnon is a cyber security expert at Sense of Security – a
leading Australian cyber security consulting practice. With a core focus on
achieving tangible cyber resilience for business and government, Michael is
a trusted advisor to some of Australia’s best known brands and
organizations. He is a frequent media spokesperson and has been a member of the steering
group committee for the Australian Government’s Stay Smart Online initiative.
Michael can be reached online via email at [email protected] and invites
questions at any time on Twitter to @bigmac.

14 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine – March 2017 Edition
Copyright © Cyber Defense Magazine, All rights reserved worldwide