The former head of Australia's domestic intelligence agency ASIO has warned of the increasing potential for what he terms "terrorists" to launch cyber attacks in Australia.
He made the comments at the launch of a report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Canberra into Australia's ability to deal with cyber attacks.
Former ASIO boss David Irvine says, while the internet has opened up great opportunities for democratising information, it also carries with it what he calls a "dark side".
And Mr Irvine is urging the Australian government to be innovative in looking for ways to fight new threats of cyber attack from groups like the self-proclaimed Islamic State.
"While terrorist organisations haven't yet exhibited sophisticated cyber attack capability, we must anticipate, given the sophistication that they've already demonstrated in using the Internet for propaganda and other reasons, that they could well develop destructive capabilities in the near future."
A new report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute finds Australia has dropped from third to fifth place among Asia-Pacific countries in their cyber policies and practices.
That is despite Australia improving on its overall score from 2014.
The study of 19 countries claims Australia's rank has slipped due to other countries such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore rapidly implementing strong cyber policies.
And the institute predicts, by 2020, China will challenge the United States for the top spot in the rankings.
Specifically, the rankings take in governance structure, financial cyber-crime enforcement, military application, digital economy and business and social engagement.
David Irvine says the Australian government has already been a consistent target of cyber attacks.
"The scale of the problem is growing every year, as does the sophistication of those who seek to break into Australian networks and steal sensitive information. In 2014, the Australian Signals Directorate responded to over a thousand incidents affecting government networks, attempts to get into government networks."
Mr Irvine says the threats posed by cyber attacks go beyond government information to include personal and commercial data.
And he says the cyberspace is a new frontier for political tensions and international relations.
"We can also anticipate that the political intentions throughout our region can be played out online as cyberspace becomes increasingly another medium for international competition and for the promotion of national interests."
Mr Irvine says Australia needs to be innovative and creative in addressing a problem which he says changes almost on a daily basis.
