News
The Australian Government has announced a strategic partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to bolster Australia’s cybersecurity capabilities with an investment of at least $2 billion over the next decade
The partnership will involves establishing a Top Secret (TS) AWS cloud in Australia, which the country will move its secret intelligence data to, in collaboration with the Australian Signals Directorate (an Australian government intelligence agency).
The platform aims to enhance the resilience of ICT services for the government and could create up to 2,000 local jobs.
The TS Cloud will support secure storage and analysis of Australia’s most sensitive data, leveraging advanced technologies like AI and machine learning. This initiative is expected to strengthen the defence department’s communication networks and facilitate closer collaboration with allied nations such as the UK and the US, who already use AWS cloud computing in their governments.
The Defence minister Richard Marles said in a press release that the deal would increase “interoperability” with the US and “ensure we have a far more resilient, capable, lethal, modern and potent defence force in the future”.
“My government is bolstering our defence and national intelligence community to ensure they can deliver world leading protection for our nation,” said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
“We face a range of complex and serious security challenges and I am incredibly proud of the work our national security agencies undertake on a daily basis to keep Australians safe. We must never underestimate their value and importance. That is what this investment today is about,” he continued.
AWS plans to engage local businesses in designing and building the TS Cloud, offering opportunities for innovation in cybersecurity, data analytics, and cloud computing.
The company has also committed to other infrastructure investments in Australia, including a planned $13.2 billion by 2027 and a previous $9.1 billion since its launch in 2011, supporting local job creation.
Keep up to date with the latest international telecoms news by subscribing to the Total Telecom daily newsletter
Also in the news:
Dutch operators finally get their hands on midband 5G spectrum
Virgin Media O2 completes first stage of Shared Rural Network
Xavier Niel’s $4.1 billion bid for Millicom is too low, company says