A new centre for cyber security research has opened in Australia's capital city, and should raise awareness of the growing IT risks for Australian consumers and businesses alike.

Assistant Minister for Defence Stuart Robert announced on June 16 the launch of the Australian Centre for Cyber Security (ACCS), a new research arm of the University of New South Wales. Based at Canberra's Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA), the centre will bring together cyber security experts from government and some of the leading Australian researchers in the field.

Mr Robert explained that formal, academic research in the area was necessary given the increasing frequency and sophistication of cyber attacks.

"I am very encouraged to see academia engaging in research on cyber security issues and contributing to the wider efforts to protect Australia from cyber threats that pose a significant challenge to national security," he stated.

"The centre's research will cover issues such as cyber ethics, law and justice as well as those issues that affect the everyday lives of people and businesses, such as computer and network security."

In total, the centre will focus on five broad areas of cyber security: computer and network security, risk management, international politics and ethics, law and big data analytics. 

As business technologies become ever more sophisticated and complex, cyber criminals are upping their efforts to match. The foundation of the ACCS should shed more light on the prevalent risks and ultimately benefit industries across Australia.

As an extra measure, businesses can take advantage of information security training courses to ensure their IT team is equipped with the latest skills and knowledge to deflect such threats.

"The cyber threat facing our nation comes from a wide range of sources, including individuals, issue-motivated groups, criminal syndicates and state-based actors," Mr Robert concluded.

"We are lucky to have this centre located at ADFA where our future leaders will have access to state-of-the-art research on this significant issue."