Australia's Home Affairs Department has directed all government departments and agencies to undertake a "rapid" stocktake of legacy systems, formulate risk management for legacy technology, and report their compliance back to the department following OpenAI's Medicare breach. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
Priority given to systems of government significance
The directive prioritises systems of government significance — the government's critical systems. Their review is due by the end of the year, while other systems will be assessed by March.
The measure aims to bolster Australia's public sector against further AI threats — deliberate or not.
Minister's statement
Acting home affairs minister Richard Marles said AI is "changing the environment in which we operate at extraordinary speed."
"We can't wait for an old system to fail before replacing it. We need to identify vulnerabilities and deal with them before they can be exploited," he said.
Review timelines
According to the directive, the review of systems of government significance is due by the end of the year. Other systems will be assessed by March.
All departments and agencies are required to undertake a rapid stocktake of legacy systems, formulate risk management for legacy technology, and report their compliance back to the Home Affairs Department.
Context
The decision follows OpenAI's Medicare breach. The incident has heightened concerns about cybersecurity in Australia's public sector and exposed new risks associated with the development of artificial intelligence technologies.
The government continues to take measures aimed at strengthening the public sector to counter AI threats.