Digital attacks on democratic processes worldwide require an urgent response, a new report warns.
The report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute takes the 2016 US presidential election campaign as a case study to explore interference in democratic processes from countries such as Russia.
"Two critical elements of the democratic process are under assault: the security of our election infrastructure - think hacked voting machines - and the integrity of our public debates - think fake news," report author Zoe Hawkins said.
Australia, like all democracies, faced growing challenges to its system of governance in the digital age.
The report shows that recent developments in the US and Europe reveal more needs to be done in securing the integrity of Australia's electoral processes.
"Modern electoral systems feature digital weaknesses that can be manipulated by malicious cyber actors. So Australia must prioritise building cybersecurity into its election infrastructure," Ms Hawkins said.
She also warns against the impact of influence campaigns, like that perpetrated by Russia during the US presidential election, which could be used to favour a particular candidate in Australians elections.
"We need to think ahead about how we as a country want to manage the delicate balance of preventing the fake news phenomena while also protecting freedom of speech," Ms Hawkins said.
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