The rapidly changing global technological environment has made cybersecurity more important than ever. To support an informed Australian response across a range of sectors, the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) is undertaking a new national project to understand and strengthen the resilience and integrity of Australia’s critical operational systems.

Independently led by ATSE with expert input from cybersecurity firm and project partner Fortinet, industry representatives, security researchers and more, the project will identify and assess cybersecurity risks and strengthen assurance across critical infrastructure sectors including energy, water, healthcare, freight, and telecommunications.

Recent guidance from the Five Eyes cybersecurity agencies and the Australian Government’s Horizon 2 Action Plan reinforce the growing importance of resilience across critical systems as they become increasingly digitalised and interconnected. Cyber threats are growing in scale, sophistication and potential impact. Beyond data protection, the project will examine risks to operational continuity, physical assets, supply chains and essential services.

The initiative will also investigate vulnerabilities linked to globally sourced components, hardware integrity, firmware manipulation, supply chain compromise and lifecycle security across operational technology environments.

The project aims to deliver a systems-oriented understanding of cybersecurity risk in Australia’s critical infrastructure environment, and provide practical, policy-relevant recommendations to strengthen national resilience.

The project steering committee will be led by ATSE Fellows Kelly Bayer Rosmarin FTSE, Professor Shazia Sadiq FTSE, Professor Joanna Batsone FTSE, Professor Maurice Pagnucco FTSE, Professor Jay Guo FTSE, Dr Sue Keay, and Professor Ian Opperman FTSE. Together, they bring strong expertise across technology, leadership, governance and critical systems resilience.

The project will assess:

The definition and role of critical systems in the Australian context
Emerging cybersecurity threats across critical infrastructure
Systemic vulnerabilities, including supply chain and lifecycle risks
Existing policy, regulatory and governance frameworks
Technology solutions and strategies to improve cyber resilience

By bringing together expertise across technology, engineering, policy, and cybersecurity, ATSE and Fortinet aim to contribute to a stronger and more resilient critical infrastructure ecosystem for Australia.