National Security To Get Tech Savvy

May 23, 2006:Technology solutions company Unisys and the Australian Strategic Policy Institute will host a National Security Seminar at Old Parliament House today.

The agenda of this seminar will be to discuss the potential for departmental cooperation in the creation of an Australian security ‘ecosystem’. “Security needs to be redefined by standards which govern both policy and technology,” says Allen Koehn, managing partner Public Sector, Unisys Australia-New Zealand.

The discussion promises to create the framework for public and private sectors to share information and to approach national security as a single secure ‘ecosystem’. Domestic security including defence, borders, police, immigration and secure trade will be part of such a system.

The need to balance public opinion and associated concerns around privacy and security are to be addressed too. While the need for privacy remains a concern, recent research by Unisys has reportedly demonstrated that a majority of people will share personal data if they knew that the end user would securely protect their information. The Unisys research also found 71 % people worldwide are willing to have a multi-purpose identity credential that many organizations would accept to verify a person’s identity before providing access to secure records or locations.

Unisys will be a part of a panel that will address the options for a national security framework. Also part of this panel will be former commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection, Robert Bonner. He will speak on the need of interoperability across departments and jurisdictions to bolster solutions that will protect citizens and encourage free trade and commerce.

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