COVID-19 identified what was essential, but cyber security will determine what is critical (infrastructure)

So far, 2020 has been dominated by COVID-19. Lockdowns and the consequences of the pandemic have caused us to think about who and what is essential, and different nations have made different decisions (you might remember back to the early arguments about haircuts).

However, in addition to considering essential services from a pandemic perspective, the increasing digitisation of life and the constant risk of cyber-attack means there is a need to reconsider what constitutes critical infrastructure, and what steps need to be taken to protect that infrastructure.

So what has changed?

In 2017, the federal government released a proposal for an act to require certain standards for critical infrastructure to provide resiliency for Australia. The Security of Critical Infrastructure Act was passed in 2018 and covered a number of areas which at the time were considered to be critical such as traditional infrastructure facilities – ports, fuel and cargo hubs, electricity