Australia’s Cyber and Critical Tech Strategy: What Does it Mean for Asia and the U.S.?
VIEW EVENT DETAILSOn April 21, 2021 Australia’s Foreign Minister launched Australia’s International Cyber and Critical Technology Engagement Strategy. From cyber and AI to quantum and nano, technology’s imprint on how we live and work as well as on states’ economic and foreign policy decisions will only grow more prominent. As competition over strategic priorities, resources, and national interests sharpens among countries, how will Australia’s international engagement contribute to enhancing digital connectivity in Asia and across the broader region? How can Australia and its regional partners work more effectively with industry and civil society to promote a stable and sustainable networked economy? How can Australia, Asia, and the United States cooperate in practical ways to ensure resilience across the spectrum of evolving technologies in the region?
Join us for a conversation with Australia’s inaugural Ambassador for Cyber Affairs and Critical Technology, Tobias Feakin, on Australia’s role in advancing prosperity, peace, and security through digitalization in an increasingly complex technological landscape. Asia Society Policy Institute Director for Political-Security Affairs, Elina Noor, will moderate the discussion.
SPEAKERS
Ambassador Tobias Feakin is Australia’s inaugural Ambassador for Cyber Affairs and Critical Technology. He commenced as Ambassador for Cyber Affairs in January 2017, before having his mandate expanded to reflect the central role that technology issues have in geopolitics in 2021. Prior to his Ambassadorial appointment, Dr. Feakin was the Director of National Security Programs at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute from 2012 to 2016 where he established the Institute’s International Cyber Policy Centre. Prior to this he was Director for National Security and Resilience at the Royal United Services Institute in London from 2006-2012. Ambassador Feakin is a Senior Fellow with the Royal United Services Institute and a member of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s FinCyber Advisory Group which focuses on developing an International Strategy for Cybersecurity and the Global Financial System.
Elina Noor (Moderator) is Director, Political-Security Affairs and Deputy Director, Washington, D.C. Office at the Asia Society Policy Institute. A native of Malaysia, Elina’s work focuses on security developments in Southeast Asia as well as global governance and technology. Previously, Elina was Associate Professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies. Prior to that, she was Director, Foreign Policy and Security Studies at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia. Elina served on the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace. She is a member of the Christchurch Call Advisory Network. Elina was educated at Oxford University, The London School of Economics and Political Science, and Georgetown University.