The NSW government has still not fulfilled about a quarter of the roles in its expanded cyber security unit, Cyber Security NSW, nearly two years after it promised funding to quadruple its size.
Cyber Security NSW, which has been in its current form since mid-2019, is responsible for the government’s cyber security policy, response to incidents and efforts to help raise cyber hygiene.
He also manages the government’s Cyber Security Vulnerability Management Center in Bathurst, which oversees systems and provides early identification and remediation of known vulnerabilities.
In August 2020, Customer Support Minister Victor Dominello allocated $ 60 million to Cyber Security NSW from a $ 240 million investment in cyber security over three years (now $ 315 million).
The funds – coming from the $ 2.1 billion Digital Reset Fund (DRF) – were to be used to create an “army” of cyber experts over three years, with as many as 75 new roles.
Such a workforce was intended to enable Cyber Security NSW to expand the state’s cyber defense, including providing support to small agencies and councils – considered some of the most vulnerable.
But in response to questions about the announcement from the March Round of Budget Estimates, the Customer Support Department found that 22 positions in Cyber Security NSW remained unfilled.
Current staff levels are at 76 permanently registered positions, as well as five contractors, the department said.
A spokesman for the Customer Support Department told iTnews that the challenge of finding staff comes down to a set of factors, not just a lack of skills in the cybersecurity sector.
“Cyber Security NSW has undertaken a period of rapid growth and is actively advertising and recruiting for a number of positions,” a spokesman said.
“Roles are vacant for a variety of reasons, including prioritizing the roles being hired, internal advancement that creates a vacancy in … the original role, and normal workforce turnover.
“It is also critical that the candidates meet the high standards of the CSNSW role. Occasionally, Cyber Security NSW was unable to find a suitable candidate and re-advertised the position. ”
Despite staffing challenges, the department said there was no impact on the services offered by Cyber Security NSW.
“Cyber Security NSW has been increasing its services since the funds were received from DRF, and the services are continuously increasing as the function grows,” a spokesman said.
“This did not result in any impact on the services offered.”
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