Securing Australia’s Critical Infrastructure | Cybersecurity Framework and Regulations Compliance | Saviynt | SOCI

Australian businesses and government agencies face significant cybersecurity challenges. The importance of robust cybersecurity measures has never been greater, with an increase of 32% in attacks called into the Australian Cyber Security Hotline in 2023 compared to 2021-2022. Australian critical infrastructure (CI) sectors including energy, healthcare, transportation, water, and more, are rapidly evolving to a cloud-based model, exponentially expanding the attack surface. This growth continues to heighten the risk of cyber threats, calling for greater security and reliability. Without protection in place, negative economic, security, and sovereignty impacts will continue to reveal themselves.

Frameworks and Regulations Keeping Australia’s CI Safe

Legal frameworks and regulations have been implemented to protect Australia's critical infrastructure from attacks: 

• The Federal Act: The Australian government has crafted an action plan and long-term strategy to uplift the security of the Commonwealth Government. By 2030, Australia aims to achieve a whole-of-government Zero Trust culture, have routine interviews on the cyber maturity of Commonwealth entities, and more. 
• SOCI Act: Designed for sectors with direct interests in critical infrastructure assets, the SOCI Act of 2018 ensures the government can support its citizens if a cybersecurity incident leaves a substantial impact. With the support of this Act, sectors can avoid the chances of long-term digital shortages or instability. If a business is not compliant, it can face hefty ASIC fines, lack of insurance coverage, and reputational damage.
• AEMO: AEMO specifically works to better protect Australia’s energy sector from cyber threats. In collaboration with industries and government agencies, AEMO designed a framework and an annual voluntary assessment program known as the Australian Energy Sector Cyber Security Framework (AESCSF). Participants are enabled to learn more about their cyber security capability and maturity. Based on the results, they can then improve their overall cybersecurity posture.

AESCSF Identity Domain: Meeting the Objectives 

The AESCSF consists of 11 domains, each focusing on specific aspects of cybersecurity. The Identity and Access Management (IAM) domain focuses on ensuring that access to critical systems and data is controlled, monitored, and appropriately managed. Primary IAM objectives include:

Access Control:

• Implement robust access control mechanisms to ensure that only authorised individuals have access to sensitive systems and data.
• Utilise principles such as least privilege and role-based access control (RBAC) to minimise unnecessary access.

Identity Management:

• Establish and maintain a comprehensive identity management system that accurately identifies and authenticates users.
• Ensure that user identities are verified, and access rights are appropriately assigned based on their roles and responsibilities.

Monitoring and Auditing:

• Continuously monitor access to critical systems and data to detect unauthorised access attempts and other anomalies.
• Conduct regular audits of access rights and activities to ensure compliance with security policies and identify potential security gaps.

Stay Compliant With Complete Identity Control

Power and protect your business with The Identity Cloud from Saviynt. Saviynt’s intelligent cloud platform converges identity governance, privileged access management, and application access governance capabilities to provide complete identity control. Saviynt’s Identity Cloud enables organisations to close identity security gaps, standardise and streamline identity lifecycle management, and mature their identity and access operations. Meet compliance objectives by:

• Acquiring an inventory of all digital identities—both standard and privileged—and maintaining 360-degree visibility across these identities and their access
• Leveraging built-in analytics and policy engines to make risk-aware access decisions throughout the identity lifecycle
• Employing continuous monitoring and real-time alerting of risky access

Securing Australia's Energy Sector

We focus on providing our customers with a strong foundation for holistic success. Our collaboration with Origin Energy, an integrated energy company supplying electricity and gas to over four million customers in Australia, resulted in improved application access administration and onboarding processes in just six months.

Origin develops, produces, and delivers natural gas and renewable energy, supporting a business mission of supplying affordable and sustainable energy to all its customers. They work with purpose and are dedicated to uplifting communities and our planet. Origin’s outdated Identity and Access Management (IAM) tool limited its ability to scale, though, inhibiting access to mission-critical applications and data. Looking for a partner that could quickly and effectively provide an updated state-of-the-art Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) solution, Origin turned to The Identity Cloud from Saviynt.

With our support, Origin was able to transform its identity lifecycle management and application risk and compliance program, securing its critical enterprise and IT assets. This eliminated manual processes, reduced costs, improved audit support, and much more. Origin can now turn its full attention back to both present and future initiatives. 

Let’s Get Started

Don’t face cyber threats alone. We can help. Leverage The Identity Cloud’s solutions to stay compliant and secure. As technology shifts, be audit-ready anytime, removing barriers that slow your business from transformation. Request a demo to get started with our team today. 

As the world moves toward cloud adoption, the private and public sectors need validated solutions to safeguard privacy and data. Collaboration between regulators and vendors is critical to building a strong defense. This is why Saviynt has completed the IRAP assessment and will participate biennially to ensure continued growth.