The Australian Defence Force has established a Cyber Command within its Joint Capabilities Group to integrate units focused on cyber and enable a more centralised and co-ordinated management of cyber operations. (Commonwealth of Australia)
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has established a new command focused on cyber within its Joint Capabilities Group (JCG).
This new command is expected to reinforce the ADF's efforts to enhance its capabilities in cyberspace and the electromagnetic spectrum, the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) said on 9 August.
The cyber domain also plays a critical role in enabling forces to have an edge in cognitive and information warfare, the DoD added.
“Establishing a Cyber Command ensures [the DoD] meets the government's direction to enhance our cyber capabilities and enable an integrated, focused force requirement,” Lieutenant General Susan Coyle, Chief of JCG, said.
The DoD said that with the establishment of Cyber Command, the Cyber Force Generation branch has evolved into Cyber Forces Group, a command entity. The ADF's Joint Cyber Unit, Fleet Cyber Unit, 138 Signal Squadron, 462 Squadron, and 1st Joint Public Affairs Unit have been moved into Cyber Forces Group.
Transferring all cyber-warfare units into Cyber Command will help integrate soldiers skilled and trained in cyber warfare from all services of the ADF, along with public servants and personnel from industry partners, and enable a more centralised and co-ordinated management of this workforce, the DoD added.
The DoD said the Joint Survivability Tactics Validation Unit has also been transferred from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) to the JCG's Joint Capabilities Division to consolidate all operations associated with the cyber domain within the JCG.
The DoD also plans to create a Joint Data Network Unit in the future to support Cyber Command.
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