Australia’s cyber environment is under constant attack. The threats are multi-faceted and growing. Beyond the well-known cybercrime and cybersecurity challenges, Australia faces a barrage of online mis- and dis-information aimed at undermining our social cohesion. Despite increased emphasis on the cyber domain, Australia’s existing public and private capacity is likely insufficient to counter the full range of threats faced in cyberspace.

Against this background, Australia must adopt a whole-of-society approach to the defence of the cyber environment. This discussion paper seeks to canvass options for an Australian ‘cyber intelligence and information militia’; that is, a ‘crowdsourced’ civilian volunteer cyber reserve capability fit to engage in open-source intelligence (OSINT) and information warfare. Such a resource could play an important role in supplementing existing or developing capabilities.