New IT infrastructure manufacturing facility prepares Australia for AUKUS

Australia is one step closer towards developing its first sovereign capability in the area of critical technology, with the official opening of a new component-level IT infrastructure manufacturing facility.

Backed by a Defence Department innovation grant, SoftIron has opened its advanced manufacturing facility at Botany in Sydney.

SoftIron is an IT infrastructure provider that specialises in managing IT security risks by manufacturing and assembling its own equipment and offering its customers a security verification process. The facility is a component-level IT infrastructure manufacturing facility producing ICT componentry for SoftIron’s products.

The opening of the facility positions Australia to take advantage of the AUKUS agreement, which will see an unprecedented level of information sharing between the US, the UK and Australia and their industry partners.

By manufacturing locally, the risk of malicious state actors introducing firmware implants or so-called ‘backdoors’ into critical information systems is reduced.

The Honourable Matt Thistlethwaite, the Assistant Minister for Defence and local member for Kingsford Smith, opened the facility at an event attended by federal and state government representatives, the SoftIron leadership team, and defence, business and IT industry VIPs.

SoftIron Chief Operating Officer Jason Van der Schyff said recent events had made it clear that having ICT supply chains onshore was the only sure way for Australian IT providers to manage their commercial and strategic risk.

Image: Supplied