Macquarie Telecom opens new high security Canberra data centre

Macquarie Telecom has officially opened its new high security data centre in Canberra, Intellicentre 5 Bunker (IC5).

The facility aims to support Australia’s data sovereignty and national cybersecurity, as well as digital skills development. It has a number of physical, virtual security and compliance credentials to manage highly classified government cloud workloads.

The unveiling was attended by Australian defence minister Peter Dutton, who spoke of the importance of the nation’s critical infrastructure in bolstering Australia’s digital and cybersecurity defence capabilities.

“The need to secure data to protect Australian businesses and government has been a maturing conversation over the last few years. The threat is evolving. We know there is increasing investment in penetrating systems throughout the world. To meet that threat, the Systems of National Significance Legislation and the Securing of Critical Infrastructure Legislation are essential,” Dutton said.

“Macquarie is a globally recognised leader in its field with a particular focus on data storage and protection services. In our current threat environment, the demand for those services can only increase.”

MacTel said the Government considers the facility to be critical infrastructure, given it has been designed to store important government information, as well as “certified strategic” by the Government’s Hosting Certification Framework.

Macquarie Data Centres group executive David Hirst said, “Our IC5 bunker is built to the highest physical and electronic security standards, leveraging the accelerating trend of hybrid IT and cybersecurity needs across government.

“The delivery of this facility and Intellicentre 3 (IC3) in Sydney over the past year, when many supply chains were challenged by COVID, is a testament to the Macquarie Data Centres team and our partners. At a time when Australia needs strong economic growth, recent research has shown that data centres like these support the creation of more than 1,600 onshore jobs.”