Australians working in banks, telcos and tech companies are being targeted for a new military force as Defence looks beyond its traditional ranks for the specialist skills it could need in the next conflict.
The Australian Defence Force has established a Cyber Reserve Force to recruit experienced professionals with expertise spanning cyber operations, artificial intelligence, network engineering, cloud security, digital forensics, incident response and threat intelligence.
Rather than requiring specialists to abandon their civilian careers for a traditional pathway into Defence, the new model is designed to recognise skills and experience they have already developed in industry, government and academia.
RMIT University cyber security expert Associate Professor Nalin Arachchilage said Defence was looking outside its existing workforce because some of Australia’s most valuable cyber expertise was already employed elsewhere.
“You can’t conscript your way to a cyber workforce,” he told Yahoo News Australia.
“The people who know how to stop a ransomware attack at 2am are already employed – this is Defence meeting them where they are, instead of trying to grow them from scratch.”
Cyber Command RAN Fleet Cyber Unit mission commander Lieutenant Nathan Kafer and Cyber Forces Group Flying Officer Enoch Kavur work together in a multinational team during Exercise Cobra Gold in Thailand.
(Defence)What could Australia’s new cyber reservists actually do?
The new reservists could be called on to provide specialist advice, technical expertise and operational support, while giving Defence the ability to rapidly increase its cyber capability when required.
That could mean specialists helping trace an intrusion into a network, responding to a major cyber incident or advising as an attack unfolds.
“It’s less ‘boots on the ground’ and more ‘brains on call’ – surge capacity for the moments when Defence needs twenty extra experts overnight, not twenty extra soldiers,” Professor Arachchilage said.
The Cyber Reserve Force was established within 12 months and is an outcome of the 2023 Defence Strategic Review of the Australian Defence Force Reserve.
Acting Commander Cyber Command Air Commodore Michael Reidy said cyber power had become an “essential element of Australia’s national defence”.
“The Cyber Reserve Force enables Defence to access highly specialised expertise, strengthening our ability to defend, fight and prevail in an increasingly contested and complex digital battlespace,” he said.
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Why Australia needs a cyber reserve
Professor Arachchilage said cyber warfare had become an unavoidable part of modern conflict, making a specialist reserve increasingly important.
“Every major conflict in the last decade has had a cyber front,” he said.
“Australia not having a reserve for it would be like preparing for a naval war without a navy reserve.”
But that doesn’t necessarily mean Australia’s new cyber reservists will be launching attacks against foreign targets.
“I’d expect the vast majority of reservist work to be defensive and advisory,” he said.
“Offensive cyber is a different legal and operational world that remains the responsibility of a small, specialised workforce rather than a broader reserve force.”
Specialists from the Joint Task Force 661 Defensive Cyber Operations team at Camp Ricarte, Puerto Princesa City in the Philippines during Exercise ALON 25.
(Defence)Defence faces battle for Australia’s cyber talent
Finding enough people could prove challenging, with Defence competing with some of Australia’s biggest companies for experienced cyber specialists.
That competition for talent is part of the reason the Cyber Reserve Force has been designed specifically for experienced professionals rather than relying entirely on conventional military recruitment.
“Every bank, telco and cloud company in the country is fighting for the same small pool of cyber talent,” Professor Arachchilage said.
“Defence isn’t just competing with the enemy here, it’s competing with Google’s salary offer.”
Acting Commander Cyber Command Air Commodore Michael Reidy added the new pathway would broaden Defence’s access to Australian cyber talent and help create “a more capable, resilient and agile force prepared to meet future challenges”.
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