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New research centre to tackle cyberwarfare and safeguard national security

A new research centre launched at Flinders University will tackle foreign meddling in democratic elections as well as the proliferation of fake news and threats to national security through the ‘weaponisation of social media’.

According to a recent press release, the Jeff Bleich Centre for the US Alliance in Digital Technology, Security, and Governance will be the first research centre in Australia to adopt a multidisciplinary approach to social science by bringing together the three key areas of technology, security, governance.

Based in the University’s College of Business, Government and Law, it will undertake research in areas of mutual concern to Australia and the United States.

The aim is to improve the capacity of governments and industry to respond to these cyber challenges and threats.

These cyber challenges and threats are digital media manipulation in fostering divisions in civil society, challenging national security and contesting democratic governance.

The launch of the Centre coincided with the release of the latest Lowy Institute Annual Poll, which ranked cyber security as the most significant threat to Australia’s vital interests after climate change.

About the Centre

The Centre is named in honour of Ambassador Jeff Bleich, Special Counsel to President Barack Obama and a diplomat who served as Ambassador to Australia from 2009 to 2013.

The Ambassador is an Honorary Professor and long-time friend of the University.

The Centre will create opportunities for industry, particularly defence, government and NGOs to work with the University to address current and emerging issues in cybersecurity.

It will consolidate the University’s research expertise and strengths in digital technologies, security and governance.

Furthermore, it will build upon its existing strengths in US policy studies and the university’s strong US alliance.

The Centre aligns with the South Australian and Federal Governments’ cyber security plans and will further strengthen South Australia’s position as Australia’s Defence State.

It will undertake research to identify reforms, including regulatory models, which preserve the gains of the digital revolution.

Moreover, it will enhance the protection of democratic freedoms, and restore trust in the institutions of democratic societies.

Digital revolution

The digital revolution has initiated societal change on a scale comparable to the invention of the printing press and the arrival of the industrial revolution.

Although cyber revolution offers incalculable benefit, there have also been high costs.

The disruptive costs of the digital revolution on democracy have been high, largely unanticipated and only recently addressed as some have escalated into crises.

According to the Ambassador, these have included deliberate efforts to impair individual, corporate and government decision-making through corrupt, distorted, or false information campaigns.

The advent of digital technology has fundamentally changed the way people work, eat, shop, and live. But it has also changed the societies and how people defend themselves.

The mission of the Centre is that both nations, either separately or together, should operate in new ways to preserve the values and protect the people and allies in new battle spaces.

A five-member Advisory Board will be appointed to provide strategic guidance and direction for the Centre.

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Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

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CTC Global Singapore, a premier end-to-end IT solutions provider, is a fully owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC) and ITOCHU Corporation.

Since 1972, CTC has established itself as one of the country’s top IT solutions providers. With 50 years of experience, headed by an experienced management team and staffed by over 200 qualified IT professionals, we support organizations with integrated IT solutions expertise in Autonomous IT, Cyber Security, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure, Workplace Modernization and Professional Services.

Well-known for our strengths in system integration and consultation, CTC Global proves to be the preferred IT outsourcing destination for organizations all over Singapore today.

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Planview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview’s full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.

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SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

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HashiCorp provides infrastructure automation software for multi-cloud environments, enabling enterprises to unlock a common cloud operating model to provision, secure, connect, and run any application on any infrastructure. HashiCorp tools allow organizations to deliver applications faster by helping enterprises transition from manual processes and ITIL practices to self-service automation and DevOps practices. 

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IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

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