AusCERT

AusCERT is a non-profit organisation founded in 1993 that provides advice, education and solutions to cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities.

AusCERT

Headquarters	The University of Queensland
Region	Australasia
Website	https://www.auscert.org.au

Their office is located on the University of Queensland campus.^[1]

History

In the early 1990s, Australian university student Nahshon Even-Chai hacked into the NASA computer system in his spare time.^[2] In response to this incident, three Australian universities (Queensland University of Technology, Griffith University, and the University of Queensland) formed AusCERT, which aimed to create a central source for information security and protection.^{[citation needed]}

Services

AusCERT services include phishing take-downs, security bulletins, incident notifications, sensitive information alerts, early warning SMS, and malicious URL feeds.^[3]

AusCERT is one of many computer emergency response teams (CERTs) and a member of FIRST, a worldwide network of computer security incident response and security teams.^[4] They are also a charter member^[5] of APCERT.^[6][7][8]

AusCERT Annual Conference

AusCERT's conference for security professionals takes place every year.^[9] The conference program includes tutorials, networking activities, keynote speakers, and the Australian Information Security Awards.^[10]

In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, AusCERT hosted their first virtual conference. The conference MC was Adam Spencer, and featured speakers Julie Inman (eSafety Commission), Kana Shinoda (Code Blue), and Lukasz Gogolkiewicz (Seek).^[11]

Additional Activities

The organisation currently supports and shares cybersecurity techniques openly with the following groups:

• The Australian Access Federation,^[12]
• Cyber Security threat annual surveys with BDO,^[13]
• International Training with APNIC,^[14]
• Training and support with KrCERT,^[15] and
• Council of Australian University Directors of Information Technology (CAUDIT).^[16]