The first Australia-India Cyber Policy Dialogue was held in New Delhi on 24 August. The Dialogue flows from the Framework for Security Cooperation agreed between Prime Minister Abbott and Modi during the latter's visit to Canberra in November 2014.
The Dialogue was led for India by Santosh Jha, Joint Secretary, Policy Planning, counter Terrorism and Global Cyber Issues, Ministry of External Affairs and on the Australian side by Ian Biggs, Assistant Secretary, Strategic Issues and Intelligence Branch, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The Dialogue included, on the Indian side, representatives from the CERT-India, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the National Security Council Secretariat, the Ministry of Defence, the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Telecommunications as well as the Ministry of External Affairs. On the Australian side the Dialogue included representatives of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Department of Communications, the Attorney-General's Department (CERT-Australia), and the Australian Federal Police.
The two sides discussed the full range of cyber issues exchanging cyber threat perceptions, policies and strategies, agency roles and responsibilities, key domestic developments including Digital India and Australia's Cyber Security Review, the development of international norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace, regional developments, the multi-stakeholder approach to internet governance and cybercrime.
To strengthen the relationship between CERT-India and CERT-Australia they signed a framework for operational collaboration on cyber security to promote greater cooperation in exchanging information on cyber threats and in responding to incidents. The two sides also identified opportunities to work together to exchange information on cybercrime and on law enforcement measures. The delegations agreed that further dialogue would be fruitful to deliberate on the application of international law to cyberspace and the development of norms including the work of the UN Group of Governmental Experts, the work of regional bodies including the ASEAN Regional Forum on confidence building and the Asia-Pacific CERT community in supporting the development of regional CERT capacity, and on the role of different stakeholders in supporting the multi-stakeholder approach to internet governance.
The two countries decided to hold the next round of the Dialogue in Canberra in 2016.