SYDNEY, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Google and

Australia's national science agency will join hands to develop

digital tools that automatically detect and fix software

vulnerabilities for operators of critical infrastructure,

seeking to combat a surge in cyberattacks.

The software for organisations such as hospitals, defence

bodies and energy suppliers will be customised to be in line

with Australia's regulatory environment.

"Software supply chain vulnerabilities are a global issue,

and Australia has led the way in legislative measures to control

and combat the risks," said Stefan Avgoustakis, head of security

practice for Google Cloud in Australia and New Zealand.

The Australian government has been imposing tougher

requirements on critical infrastructure operators to report and

prevent cyberattacks after a spate of breaches in the past two

years left the personal information of half the country's 26

million population exposed.

The research partnership will pair up Google's existing open

source vulnerability database and artificial intelligence

services with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial

Research Organisation's (CSIRO) research methods, the parties

said in a statement.

Google said the plan was part of a five-year commitment it

made in 2021 to spend A$1 billion ($675 million) in Australia at

a time when the country's push for tougher regulation of global

tech firms had cooled relations with the U.S. firm.

Google also supplies cybersecurity services to the U.S. as

part of a $9 billion contract between the U.S. Department of

Defense and a number of large tech firms.

CSIRO's project lead Ejaz Ahmed said locally developed

cybersecurity software would "be better aligned with local

regulations, promoting greater compliance and trustworthiness."

The project's findings will be made public to provide

operators of critical infrastructure easy access to the

information.

($1 = 1.4826 Australian dollars)