Keep Cash Alive

The World Economic Forum, the International Bank of Settlements, the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations and other institutions have highlighted the increasing frequency and severity of cyber-attacks as a major global risk. This again played out in mid-July when ‘Crowdstrike’ brought most of the entire world’s digital systems to a halt. These institutions have noted that cyber- attacks are becoming more sophisticated and disruptive, affecting both public and private sectors. This emphasises the need for enhanced cyber resilience and robust strategies to protect critical infrastructure and data. It also highlights the strong need to keep cash in our society, for if these attacks are more likely, then each of us needs to have cash on hand to pay for our daily goods and services.

Cyber-attacks are one issue. Another is that not all people have access to digital services and nor do they want it. So we must not discriminate against our fellow Australians and ensure that they have access to all goods and services uses legal tender.