Procurement begins as government agencies swap old security systems

Four federal government agencies will replace dozens of legacy cyber security systems with internet gateways that can protect multiple agencies with security vendors vying for contracts, which are believed to exceed $100 million.

Under old arrangements, agencies were collectively spending between $30 and $40 million a year on their internet gateways.

Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) has not set cost reduction targets for the project but agencies were likely to see some savings as a result of aggregation, AGIMO assistant secretary for cyber security and ICT skills, Trevor Smallwood, said.

The lead agencies are following their normal procurement processes and are free to choose their own suppliers.

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