Australians are being encouraged to be more aware of potential cyber attacks at a population scale rather than as a private issue.

Assistant Minister for Defence Andrew Hastie told Ray Hadley Australians who are less familiar with cyber security should visit the official government website for advice.

“We’ve got to start thinking about cyber as a battlefield.

“We’ve always thought about war … being conducted on air, land and sea, but now instead of bombing a power grid, you can potentially hack in … and shut it down remotely.”

Over the next decade, $1.3 billion will be spent to “get Australia up to speed” in combatting threats, from common cyber criminals to sophisticated state actors.

“We need to do more to protect ourselves.”

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