'The threat now online is as real as it's ever been': $1.67 billion cybersecurity strategy unveiled

The government has unveiled a $1.67 billion strategy to bolster cybersecurity and clean up the "sewer of the internet" over the next decade.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton made the announcement alongside Prime Minister Scott Morrison this morning, saying: "the threat now online is as real as it's ever been".

"If you're a paedophile you should be worried about these powers, if you're a tourist you should be worried about these powers ,if you're committing serious offence in relation to trafficking of drugs, of ice, for example, that's being pedalled to children, you should be worried about these powers as well," Mr Dutton said.

The strategy includes funding for an extra hundred "cyber-detectives" and gives extra powers to the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission.

Mr Dutton said there has been a "massive spike" in paedophilic behaviour online during the pandemic.

"They are targeting kids because they know kids are at home," he said.

"We wouldn't allow our kids to go down to the park knowing that they were talking to a paedophile in that local park. Why would we allow our kids to do that online?" Mr Dutton added.

"And we know now that the dark web is essentially the sewer of the internet, where paedophiles and other criminal syndicates, hang out, exchange images of children, and we are going after those."

Today's $1.67billion includes the $1.3billion announced at the end of June.

"When I announced that amount, I said the details would be announced in terms of how that would be acquitted in the national cyber security strategy which is happening today," Mr Morrison said.

"There is new funding attached to that."