WASHINGTON, USA — Attorney General William P. Barr and Australian minister for home affairs Peter Dutton hosted a government-industry roundtable discussion yesterday titled, “Shaping a Trusted Technology Ecosystem,” with more than a dozen representatives from the tech industry landscape.
“Communications networks and supply chains are increasingly vast and complex, and even aggressive efforts by responsible governments will not be able to identify and neutralize every threat,” said attorney general Barr. “What this highlights is the need to facilitate trusted markets and secure sources of supply to meet the continuing demands we have for innovation and security.”
This dialogue was a critical step in jointly addressing complex supply chain challenges faced by both nations. The collaborative discussion presented an opportunity for industry, Australia and the United States to work together on solutions to ensure an open marketplace, achieve a diverse range of secure technology options, and enhance global technology markets characterized by trust, transparency, and fair competition.
“We already rely on internet-based technologies, but the next suite of developing technologies represent a new challenge in the way that they are securely integrated into our societies and economies,” said home affairs minister Dutton. “It’s clear our existing policy settings are not keeping pace with this technological change and we should be under no illusions that securing these new technologies is a simple task. Government and industry must work together to identify practical solutions to this challenge, and this dialogue today has been a vital first step towards that goal.”
Areas of potential cooperation discussed included more strategically shaping international standards bodies; the creation of public-private partnerships or international consortia that can deliver alternative and trusted solutions to market; and coordinated investment in research and development to support and further our innovative edge.
Also discussed were the concerted, collective and coordinated actions from both government and industry required to achieve meaningful change. The dialogue was a critical step in jointly addressing global supply chain challenges and highlighting the opportunity to work together on solutions.
