The WA Government has revealed new plans to keep Western Australians safe and secure online by allocating $25.5 million to expanding the state’s cyber security services. 

Building upon world-leading practices and facilities to detect and respond to cyber risks in the state, the WA Government allocated significant funding via the Digital Capability Fund to ensure that WA has world-class cyber capabilities in place to facilitate secure data exchanges between agencies and prevent, detect and respond to contemporary cyber threats and risks. 

“The McGowan Government is committed to ensuring all Western Australians are safe and secure online,” Innovation and ICT Minister Stephen Dawson said. 

“The $25.5m funding boost forms part of the McGowan Government’s $500 million Digital Capability Fund, which was established to drive strategic and targeted investment in digital transformation across Western Australia.” 

The $25.5 million investment is also set to transform the Office of Digital Government’s Cyber Security Unit into the largest dedicated cyber security team in Western Australia. 

“Cyber threats continue to evolve, and so by investing in our world-class Cyber Security Operations Centre, Western Australians can be assured important Government services they access will continue to be safe and their information will remain secure,” Minister Dawson said. 

This includes the rollout of additional cyber security services across the WA Public Sector and establishing a new dedicated home for the Cyber Security Operations Centre. A range of recruitment pools for positions within the Cyber Security Unit is also made available online in preparations for the changes. 

The significant growth of cyber services offers technical and non-technical employment opportunities to WA’s cyber security sector, and will also build skills across agencies to support their digital transformation journey. 

“The Office of Digital Government is leading and coordinating digital transformation across government to improve service delivery for all Western Australians,” Minister Dawson said. 

“I encourage all qualified cyber security individuals to apply for these important roles within the State Government. The expansion of cyber services across the Public Sector will generate local jobs and entry-level opportunities for Western Australians looking to get into the cyber security sector.” 

Source: Government of Western Australia Media Release

Eliza Sayon

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Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.

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