Natalie Treloar

Published: July 20, 2026 NATO’s recent establishment of Baltic Sentry (2025), Eastern Sentry (2025), and Arctic Sentry (2026) reflects more than a response to Russian aggression. Collectively, these operations demonstrate how modern deterrence has evolved to address persistent airspace violations, hybrid warfare, cyber-attacks, sabotage of critical infrastructure, and grey-zone coercion.

The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) should evolve into a formal cybersecurity regulator, with a role comparable in principle to what the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) does in Australia’s health sector. The ACSC would have authority to set minimum cybersecurity standards, certify high-risk products and services, investigate major cyber incidents, mandate remediation of systemic vulnerabilities and enforce compliance across critical sectors.

Natalie Treloar Australian strategic affairs expert | Director, Alpha-India Consultancy | Senior Fellow, IPSC Introduction For decades, India’s security strategy has been shaped by the demands of continental defence, particularly the enduring rivalry with Pakistan and the unresolved border dispute with China. Frequent crises along the western frontier have required New Delhi to maintain substantial military resources and political attention on the subcontinent.