In cyber security, Alastair MacGibbon’s CV is about as impressive as any in Australia, and yet he reckons the results from his work have been dismal.
“If I was to review my career, it’s an abject failure, right?” he tells 7NEWS podcast The Issue.
His comment is part tongue-in-cheek, but also helps make the point that just in recent weeks, a new threat has come into view challenging his mission with cyber issues like never before.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today
I’ve spent 24 years trying to convince people
“I’ve spent 24 years trying to convince people to do better in terms of cyber security, cyber safety, privacy, what we’re doing with data, how much we’re collecting, how we need to protect it,” he says.
“And all of those dials are turned in the wrong direction.”
MacGibbon rose to prominence as the Australian Federal Police officer who established the force’s High Tech Crime Centre. He went on to advise the Prime Minister on Cyber Security, lead the Australian Cyber Security Centre, and was Australia’s first eSafety Commissioner.
After seven years founding and establishing CyberCX, Australia’s largest cyber security company, he’s become focussed on the silent and fast growing threat from internet connected technology; from robot vacuum cleaners and home security systems to the cars he sees as especially problematic.
They are just a big listening device platform
“They are just a big listening device platform. So the microphones that are in the car, the cameras that are on the outside of the car, will be collecting information and shipping it off to the manufacturer, who is under direction of the Chinese Communist Party,” he says.
“We have essentially pushed the perimeter of our society out to where those manufacturers are.”
Be the first to know:Add 7NEWS as your preferred news
“It’s not where something is made, it’s where it’s controlled from. And the vast bulk of that time now, that’s China.”
MacGibbon fears this remote control China now has
MacGibbon fears this remote control China now has over so much of our technology “could be quite catastrophic to the safety of Australians.”
“Imagine if someone, the manufacturer, who doesn’t have to hack the vehicle, sends commands to change what that vehicle does. It doesn’t start or it doesn’t stop, or its steering changes, or its lights don’t work,” he said.
“If we ended up in a conflict or near conflict situation and you were a Chinese strategist and you had these levers at your disposal, then you’d have to actively consider using them.”
Sales of Chinese-made vehicles have surged in Australia
Sales of Chinese-made vehicles have surged in Australia this year and now make up 40 per cent of the country’s new car market. Last month, car dealers sold more EVs than petrol cars for the first time in Australian history.
And yet as he sat down with 7NEWS podcast The Issue, MacGibbon was wrestling with a greater fear after what he calls a personal “wake up moment” this year.
It came as two giants of artificial intelligence, Anthropic and Open AI, acknowledged they had created tools that can hack better than humans.
He argues cyber security has largely worked up
He argues cyber security has largely worked up until now because human hackers simply didn’t have the time or patience to find and exploit tiny vulnerabilities in highly complex software.
“AI is doing that now in a matter of minutes and it’s burning tokens that cost less than my cup of coffee in the morning,” he said.
Almost overnight, artificial intelligence has demonstrated a capacity to amplify cyber threats dramatically.
That new reality is alarming for our best known cyber security leader.
“The AI attack vector in a handful of weeks has advanced and democratised the ability of people who want to hack in a way that we’ve never seen before,” he said.
After almost a quarter of a century involved
After almost a quarter of a century involved in the fight against cyber threats, MacGibbon is now watching the most intimidating threat yet.
He recently departed Cyber CX so is currently between jobs and says he’s not yet sure what he’ll do next.
Finding a job shouldn’t be too tough. Those with cyber security expertise are likely to be in demand.
You can catch more of The Issue on Listnr or watch full episodes on our YouTube channel.
