DURING a week in which a US Congressman has accused China of breaching his office’s confidential network, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy and Attorney-General Robert McClelland have opened discussion with the private sector on how to handle emerging cyber threats.

DURING a week in which a US Congressman has accused China of breaching his office’s confidential network, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy and Attorney-General Robert McClelland have opened discussion with the private sector on how to handle emerging cyber threats.

Experts from government, industry and community organisations met in Sydney on Friday to discuss emerging e-security challenges and how to prepare for the future.

Senator Conroy and Attorney-General McClelland said discussions at the Over the Horizon forum would inform the Government's future e-security policy decisions.

“We are committed to working with industry, academia and the community to ensure that trust and confidence in the online environment is maintained so that Australians take full advantage of the benefits offered by the digital economy,” Senator Conroy said.

The Over the Horizon forum officially concluded National E-security Awareness Week which was launched by Senator Conroy on 6 June 2008 to highlight simple steps Australians should take to stay smart online.

“The online environment is highly interconnected and e-security threats to different parts of the Australian economy can no longer be addressed in isolation. Protecting home and small business internet users is an important element in protecting Australia's critical infrastructure,” Mr McClelland said.

Senator Conroy, who is also Minister for the Digital Economy, recently told the AusInnovate conference at the CeBIT Australia 2008 trade fair that there were emerging e-security threats and vulnerabilities that posed a challenge to the effective and efficient use of new technologies.

And that these threats were having an effect on consumer confidence.

“Recent OECD figures show that in the EU, more than 30 per cent of internet users do not buy online because of security concerns,” Senator Conroy told the AusInnovate conference. “In Australia this figure is about 20 per cent.”

“Governments and the private sector need to work together across jurisdictions to improve cyber-security, combat spam and protect privacy, consumers and minors,” he said.