Incidents like the Bondi and Westfield attacks demonstrate that extreme violence can happen anytime, anywhere, without warning. And in most cases, security personnel will be the first to respond.

In this episode of the Security Insider podcast, we speak with Tony Blauer—CEO of Blauer Tactical Systems and founder of the SPEAR System—about “amygdala hijack”: the survival-driven takeover that can bypass cognition and degrade complex performance in fractions of a second. We unpack the startle–flinch response, why “technical” training often doesn’t transfer to real incidents, and how scenario-based training can be engineered to shorten reaction time and improve decision-making under extreme stress. 

If you run a security business and want training that holds up when it matters—this is the blueprint.

For more podcasts like this one visit www.asial.com.au

In a world where the threat environment is volatile, and tensions are high, security teams are under more pressure than ever—facing verbal aggression, physical incidents, and the constant need to stay vigilant. But mental strain doesn’t always announce itself until performance drops, conflict escalates, or someone quietly burns out.

In this, the second part of our exploration of mental health in security, we continue our discussion with Simon Brown-Greaves about how security companies can protect the mental health of their staff without sacrificing operational capability. In the last episode, we covered the biggest mental-health stressors impacting security professionals right now, as well as early indicators of burnout, cumulative stress injury, and trauma exposure.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• A practical post-incident support approach (what to do—and what to avoid)
• Training priorities for guards, supervisors, and leadership
• How to build a culture where support is used early, not after crisis

If you lead security teams—or you work the front line—this conversation will give you practical steps you can apply immediately.

Subscribe for more conversations on security leadership, operational capability, and resilience in high-risk environments.

In a world where the threat environment is volatile and tensions are high, security teams are absorbing more pressure than ever—verbal aggression, physical incidents, and the constant need to stay vigilant. But mental strain doesn’t always announce itself until performance drops, conflict escalates, or someone quietly burns out.

In this episode, we speak with Simon Brown-Greaves about how security companies can protect the mental health of their staff without sacrificing operational capability. We cover the warning signs leaders often miss, what to do after critical incidents, how rosters and fatigue drive psychological risk, and what a real mental-health framework looks like on the ground—not just in policy documents.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The biggest mental-health stressors impacting security professionals right now
• Early indicators of burnout, cumulative stress injury, and trauma exposure
• A practical post-incident support approach (what to do—and what to avoid)

If you lead security teams—or you work the front line—this conversation will give you practical steps you can apply immediately.

Subscribe for more conversations on security leadership, operational capability, and resilience in high-risk environments. visit www.asial.com.au

Drones and robotics are moving from niche capability to mainstream security tools—and at the same time, they’re creating entirely new attack paths for adversaries. In this episode of the ASIAL Security Insider Podcast, we speak with Deborah Evans (Edith Cowan University) about where unmanned systems and robotics are heading, what’s already in use across security and law enforcement, and what the industry must do to prepare. 

We discuss current developments in UAVs and other Unmanned Systems (UxS) and robotics, the pace-setting influence of China and the United States, and how modern conflict—especially Ukraine/Russia—is driving rapid innovation, adaptability, and proliferation.

From a practical security operations lens, we explore what’s likely to be adopted next: more persistent surveillance and patrol, disaster response, and environmental monitoring, enabled by higher-level data analytics and increasingly autonomous systems. We also look further ahead at emerging capabilities such as micro and nano systems, swarming, and the evolution of Counter-UAS (C-UAS)—including detection methods and the trade-offs between kinetic, non-kinetic, and hybrid defeat approaches.

Finally, we address the issues that will shape real-world adoption: preparedness, regulation, social and national security concerns, and why the security industry must lead proactively, accept measured crossover from military development, and invest intelligently in C-UAS readiness.

Key topics covered

• UAV/UxS and robotics: what’s real right now
• Security use cases: surveillance, patrol, SAR, law enforcement support
• How drones are being used to defeat security and policing
• What’s next: autonomy + analytics + scale
• Swarms, micro/nano systems, and autonomous weapons implications
• C-UAS: detection, kinetic vs non-kinetic vs combined approaches
• Regulation, adoption barriers, and what security should do now

92% of security leaders agree: the future of physical security is in the cloud. With this inevitable shift from on-premise setups to feature-rich cloud systems, join us as we explore the past, present and future of cloud-based security. In this episode of the Security Insider podcast, we speak with Dimitrie Sandu, Head of Solutions Engineering (EMEA), Verdaka about:

• The benefits and considerations of pure cloud, hybrid cloud, and old-school security setups.

• How AI can revolutionise physical security across any industry.

• Why security pros are moving away from vintage on-prem solutions in favour of the cloud (spoiler: it’s all about speed and flexibility).

• How can integrated systems improve threat detection and response in real-time?

From ‘smart cities’ to AI-shaped public spaces—how do we keep the cyber-physical world safe? In this episode of the Security Insider podcast, we’re joined by Adam Beck, the founding force behind the Smart Cities Council in Australia and New Zealand, to unpack what’s hype, what’s real, and what security leaders must do next.

If you’re a corporate security manager, a security company owner, or a government security adviser, this episode will give you a pragmatic playbook: governance, architecture, and procurement moves that reduce risk while unlocking value from city-scale tech.

The security industry has a growing problem: not enough young leaders are choosing security as a first career. Furthermore, for those younger people who do enter the industry, too many struggle to see a clear path forward. In this episode, I speak with Codee Ludbey (CPP), co-founder of Core42 and a researcher focused on corporate security careers and progression. We explore what’s holding recruitment and retention back, how to make security a more attractive and future-focused profession, and what employers can do right now to develop the next wave of capable security leaders.

In this episode of the ASIAL Security Insider Podcast, we sit down with Dr Tony Zalewski to unpack occupational health and safety in the security industry – what it really means in practice, and where organisations commonly get it wrong. Drawing on decades of experience in risk, security and major personal injury cases, Tony explains who is responsible for providing a safe workplace, how effective WHS systems are developed, and why context and consultation are critical. We also explore practical approaches to risk assessment, the difference between a safe system of work and a safe place of work, and real-world lessons from case studies that every security provider, venue operator and contractor should hear.

In this episode of the Security Insider podcast, we’re joined by Theresa Payton—a trailblazer in technology and cybersecurity and the first female White House Chief Information Officer under President George W. Bush Jr. As CEO and chief advisor at Fortalice, and a trusted voice for Fortune 500 boards and major news networks—plus a stint on CBS’s reality series Hunted—Theresa is renowned for translating complex cyber risk into practical action. Her presentation, delivered at Cybercon in Melbourne recently, titled Leading with Purpose: Lessons from the White House to Your House, distils frontline insights on resilience, values-based decision-making, and safeguarding people and data in the age of AI. We’ll dig into how to harness AI’s upside while defending against modern cybercriminal tradecraft—at work and at home. 

In this episode of the ASIAL Security Insider podcast, we are joined by Lee Odess, CEO of The Access Control Collective and founder of the Access Control Executive Brief, a widely read analysis hub for the physical access and smart lock space. Lee sits on the board of the Security Industry Association in the US and is known for transforming global research into practical playbooks for owners, integrators, and vendors. He recently delivered a talk titled “What’s Eating the Security Industry: How to Thrive in Today’s Global Evolution,” arguing that while the traditional ~$10B high-security niche is changing fast, a much larger ~$100B mainstream market is taking shape. We’ll unpack what’s driving that shift, the timeline, and how leaders can position their teams to win.