Bethany Alvaro 
The cyber seminar, conducted as part of the Indo-Pacific Endeavour, Australia’s annual regional engagement activity, examined emerging threats and vulnerabilities within the cyber world.
Australian Army Lieutenant Colonel Jordan Norrish, a defensive cyber planner at Headquarters Joint Operations Command, said the two nations were closely aligned in their objectives.
“This experience will support our efforts to build better processes and prepare for future challenges,” said LTCOL Norrish.
“Workshops like this help us understand each other’s systems and challenges.
“Over time, there may be scope to look at more focused activities, subject-matter exchanges or opportunities to include cyber elements in other exercises where it makes sense.”
LTCOL Norrish expressed the similarities in Australia and Indonesia’s approaches to tackling cyber crime, saying “when their commander read out his objectives for the workshop, they could just as easily have been written by the ADF”.
The seminar allowed both defence forces to analyse how the other operates, with Norrish expressing a focused interest in how Indonesia connected military cyber efforts with other parts of government.
Throughout the seminar, practical approaches were shared regarding strengthening cyber awareness across units and commands. It emphasised the importance of timely reporting of suspicious activity and sought to build a baseline understanding of cyber risk among non-specialist personnel.
Representing Indonesia’s Navy Cyber Centre, Lieutenant Robby Wahyu Hutomo said: “This seminar gave me a wider view of cyber security and showed why it’s important for Indonesia and Australia to work together.”
“It showed that policy is not just theory. It can guide practical steps to make systems stronger and protect networks from real threats.”
Discussions also highlighted how resilient and well-defended networks support effective cooperation with partners and contribute to a stable, secure and open Indo-Pacific region.