Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen.
I wish to begin by thanking Vietnam for its leadership in hosting this historic signing ceremony, the first in Southeast Asia.
Cybercrime is one of the most pressing challenges of our time.
The advances in technology, that have connected us, and made our lives easier, and faster, and more convenient, have also brought more complex and sophisticated crimes, carried out faster and more effectively than ever before.
These crimes bring a huge economic cost – to individuals, businesses, and governments.
In 2024–25 alone, our Australian Signals Directorate received one cybercrime report every six minutes, with a cost to the Australian economy of over $12.5 billion.
This is just a fraction of the true global cost of cybercrime plaguing each of our countries.
But of course, cybercrime is not just an economic issue it is also, an increasing, persistent, and pervasive global threat that undermines trust and causes profound social harm.
We have seen young lives lost to sextortion desperate people trafficked into scam centres, and held against their will through threats of debt bondage, extortion, or violence and families lose their life savings to attacks and scams perpetrated by cyber operations on the other side of the world.
We have seen cybercriminals target our government systems, critical infrastructure, and businesses, hoping to steal sensitive and valuable data.
And we have seen cybercriminals infiltrate networks and wait—ready to disrupt and degrade systems at a time of their choosing.
Holding cybercriminals to account is made all the more difficult, as criminal activity proliferates across borders, at scale.
Cybercriminals can establish themselves in one country, utilise the forced labour of nationals of another country, and target victims in a third country.
In this scenario, which one government can overcome this challenge?
Domestic efforts and legislation will only protect us so far.
But global cooperation is vital.
That is why Australia is pleased to sign the UN Convention against Cybercrime here today in Hanoi.
This is the first-ever UN-endorsed instrument addressing cybercrime and the collection of electronic evidence.
It is a testament to the success of multilateralism and the UN’s role as a forum for solving problems that transcend borders.
The Convention will harmonise cybercrime legislation, strengthen investigation and cooperation, and narrow the operating space for organised crime groups.
It will eliminate unintentional safe havens and ensure a global uplift in capability.
And it will do so using a human rights-based approach to its implementation – to ensure our efforts to combat cybercrime do not come at the expense of the rights we seek to protect.
The Convention’s expanded investigative powers include safeguards to uphold privacy, due process, and fundamental freedoms.
Because maintaining this balance is essential for trust and legitimacy in cyberspace.
Australia is particularly pleased of our role in shaping provisions to prevent technology-facilitated abuse – especially of children.
Offences which lead to real and devastating harms for young and vulnerable people, at a critical time in their lives.
We also know capacity building and coordinated technical assistance efforts are central to our efforts, as we are only as strong as our weakest link.
We are committed to supporting cybercrime recovery efforts, harmonising regional frameworks and ensuring cyber response teams across the region are equipped with the knowledge and tools to tackle current and emerging cyber threats.
And we are pleased to commit $83.5million over four years (2024 – 2028) to support cyber capacity building efforts in the Indo-Pacific through our flagship Southeast Asia and Pacific Cyber Program.
Because we are committed to turning this Convention into action.
And I call on every nation here today: let us invest in cooperation, share expertise, and build capacity—because cybercrime knows no borders, and neither should our resolve to defeat it.
Together, we can make cyberspace a place of trust, safety, and opportunity for all.
Thank you.