Amid our ever-evolving digital landscape, data has emerged as the strongest currency and the lifeblood of our interconnected world.
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It controls everything around us: from traffic lights, cashless payments and surgery schedules to international governance.
However, the rise of data-driven systems brings with it significant challenges.
The science of cyber security refers to how we develop secure computers and networks, to ensure that the data stored and transmitted is protected from unauthorised access.
Recent cyber security incidents, including at the University of Wollongong, underscore the need to advance science to protect our communities from threat actors.
Most organisations continue to educate staff around cyber threats, though cyber awareness is a life skill that is as important at home as it is in our workplaces.
According to information from the Australian Institute of Criminology, in 2022, the total cost of cybercrime reached more than $1 billion per year, with 30 per cent of Australians declaring to have been victims of online fraud and scams.
In 2024, Forbes estimate that the cost of cyber attacks on the global economy will exceed $10.5 trillion.
Recently UOW's Distinguished Professor Willy Susilo was awarded an Australian Research Council (ARC) Laureate Fellowship.
This fellowship will deliver new cryptography solutions, namely pragmatic cryptography, to enhance cloud computing security.
Professor Susilo leads the prestigious Institute of Cybersecurity and Cryptology (iC2), to train the next generation of experts in the growing field of computer and information security.
A key piece of the puzzle in implementing innovations in cybersecurity, information security and computer security.
Professor Susilo is no stranger to this space, as a proud UOW graduate and has led and built the Institute of Cybersecurity and Cryptology for the past decade.
As a science, cryptography is older than the pyramids. The development of encryption can be traced back to the Middle East and dates back as far as 3500 years ago.
Despite its ubiquity, over 95 per cent of cybersecurity professionals surveyed in a 2021 report confirmed they are at least moderately concerned about public cloud security, and further adoption of cloud-based technologies has been hampered by questions of data access and security.
Data is the most powerful currency of today, and with quantum computing on the way, we're in a constant battle with potential fraudsters who want to compromise previously secure, highly sensitive information. Data storage and its use should not be treated lightly; it is akin to uploading important photos or patented work without considering the consequences.
- Professor Willy Susilo
"Data is the most powerful currency of today, and with quantum computing on the way, we're in a constant battle with potential fraudsters who want to compromise previously secure, highly sensitive information," Professor Susilo explains.
"Data storage and its use should not be treated lightly; it is akin to uploading important photos or patented work without considering the consequences."
Looking ahead, the most imminent challenge to data protection, according to Professor Susilo, lies in quantum computing.
As an emerging field of technology and unlike classical computers, which use bits to store and process information as 0s and 1s, quantum computers use quantum bits (or qubits), which can exist in multiple states simultaneously thanks to a property called superposition.
This unique characteristic of qubits allows quantum computers to handle vast amounts of data and perform calculations at an unprecedented speed.
At the University of Wollongong we focus on developing professionals for the future.
This year we launched the Cyber Academy, in partnership with TAFE NSW and Deloitte, a first-of-its-kind inclusive program combining nationally recognised qualifications with paid, on-the-job training.
This was a response to a clear skills shortage in cybersecurity combined with the context of increasing numbers of attacks and the need to increase cyber resilience.
The first cohort have been working in industry, gaining real life skills while completing their studies.
Like all organisations, cyber security has never been more top of mind for me and the leadership team at UOW.
The holiday season that's upon us is prime exploitation time for the increasing threat of cyber crime.
While workplaces continue to educate staff about the importance of being aware, I encourage you to be vigilant in your personal lives too.
If ever you are uncertain - ask someone you trust.
Take care and I wish you all a joyous Christmas and restful break.
- Patricia M. Davidson is Vice-Chancellor & President, University of Wollongong
