Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Extends Partnership with Cambridge Global Advisors to Build Cyber Capacity Among Women in the Pacific

WASHINGTON, Aug. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has awarded Cambridge Global Advisors (CGA) a second phase of the Pacific Women in Cyber (PWiC) initiative, continuing a cybersecurity capacity-building partnership centered on women and girls in the Pacific region.

Funded through DFAT's Southeast Asia and Pacific Cyber Program (SEA-PAC Cyber), the second phase runs through 30 July 2028 across Tonga, Samoa, and Fiji, with programming expected to extend to additional Pacific countries. This includes additional cybersecurity trainings in each country, secondary school outreach through career seminars and ambassador engagement, expanded mentorship and career pathways, and institutional partnerships supporting sustainable cyber workforce pipelines.

Australia's Ambassador for Cyber Affairs and Critical Technology, Ms. Jessica Hunter, notes, "PWiC is a vital step toward building a more inclusive and resilient cybersecurity workforce in the Pacific. By equipping women and girls with essential digital skills and creating pathways into the cyber industry, this program strengthens both individual opportunity and regional cyber capacity."

"The work underway in Tonga, Fiji, and Samoa is already changing who sees cybersecurity as a potential career," said former Ambassador Douglas Lute, CGA Chairman. "This next phase gives us the time to turn that interest into real pathways, with internships, mentors, and institutional partners who will keep the pipeline running."

The project builds upon CGA's cybersecurity training for the U.S. State Department in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. CGA is implementing PWiC in consultation with in-country stakeholders, tailoring programming to their needs.

For more information or to explore partnership opportunities, please contact CGA at [email protected].

About SEA-PAC Cyber

SEA-PAC Cyber is Australia's flagship initiative to support cyber capacity building across Southeast Asia and the Pacific. This program consolidates regional cooperation efforts under the Australian Government's 2023–2030 Cyber Security Strategy. Under SEA-PAC Cyber, Australia is working with partners across the region to:

• Enhance their cyber security and critical technology capabilities;
• Strengthen their cyber incident preparedness and response; and
• Support development of national and regional cyber policies, norms, standards, laws and regulations to reflect an open, free and secure cyber ecosystem.

SOURCE CAMBRIDGE GLOBAL ADVISORS