Defence & Security Podcast Network

In this episode of Cyber Uncut, Cyber Daily's Liam Garman is joined by Alex Nehmy, who explains why securing critical infrastructure requires a different approach to traditional IT security. Discover why operational technology has become one of the highest-value targets for sophisticated threat actors, how attacks on OT differ from conventional data breaches, and why visibility into industrial environments is the foundation of effective defence.

The discussion explores real-world examples of cyber attacks causing physical disruption, the growing risks posed by supply chains and connected devices, and why the idea of a truly "air-gapped" network is often more myth than reality.

The conversation also examines how AI is reshaping both offensive and defensive cyber operations, the challenges organisations face in protecting modern extended OT (XOT) environments, and the practical steps security leaders can take to improve resilience against nation-state threats. Whether you're responsible for IT, OT, or critical infrastructure, this episode offers valuable insights into one of cyber security's most important and rapidly evolving battlegrounds.

Listen now to hear how security leaders can strengthen their OT defences, reduce risk, and stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated cyber adversaries.

Enjoy, The Cyber Uncut team

Defence's chief data officer and AI strategist explain how autonomy reshapes decision making while keeping commanders accountable for outcomes The Australian Defence Force's approach to artificial intelligence and autonomous systems is not a rush towards unmanned warfare, it is a disciplined pivot toward decision-aid systems that augment human judgement rather than replace it. Speaking ahead of ADSTAR 2026, Defence's chief data integration officer, Dr Paul Robards, and chief of space, intelligence, national security and cyber division, Andrew Seedhouse, outline how the Defence Force is engineering accountability into AI systems at scale. The centrepiece is a philosophy that officers remain personally accountable for all decisions, with AI functioning as a high-powered analytical support tool rather than an autonomous agent. The challenge is acute. Defence systems now ingest vast volumes of sensor data, satellites, drones, communications and cyber intelligence, creating information overload rather than clarity. AI's role is to parse this deluge, surface decision options ranked by strategic utility and present them with full traceability back to the source data. Commanders retain the final say; algorithms provide the why. Both speakers emphasise the tension between technological velocity and governance rigour. Frontier AI labs release new capabilities weekly. Defence's testing, security validation and policy alignment move faster than legacy defence timelines but must remain slower than pure research cycles. Experimental systems run on ranges with physical limiters; enterprise systems sit firewalled in sandboxes until rigorous vetting confirms fitness for operational deployment. Equally critical is Australia's industrial capacity challenge. Ukraine's autonomous systems success reflects decades of manufacturing expertise. Australia must build equivalent capability rapidly yet cannot rely on Defence alone to sustain industry. Commercial diversification and allied procurement partnerships are essential. The strategic upside for a middle power is stark: AI enables capability multiplication without conventional force parity. Small teams wielding superior analytics and autonomous systems can achieve disproportionate effect. The hard work now is execution without ethical compromise. Enjoy the podcast, The Defence Connect team

Dr Ross Babbage warns that without urgent economic reform and industrial recalibration, Australia risks becoming a client state of Beijing.

Returning to the Defence Connect Podcast, strategic analyst Dr Ross Babbage delivers an unsparing diagnosis: Australia is drifting towards a future of strategic weakness, economic vulnerability and de facto dependence on Beijing – unless the nation urgently reverses course on industrial policy, governance efficiency and the information asymmetry crippling public debate.

In a wide-ranging conversation with host Steve Kuper, Babbage articulates an emerging geopolitical fracture: the world is crystallising into distinct economic camps. The first, led by the United States and including Western democracies, is erecting selective tariffs and deepened trade ties. Camp two is China and its authoritarian satellites. A third comprises developing nations watching carefully before committing.

Australia's position, Babbage argues, remains fatefully ambiguous. While virtually every Western ally has taken protective measures against Chinese manufacturing dumping and industrial subsidy – a regime he quantifies at eight to 18 times the support other nations provide – Australia has remained conspicuously reticent. China's leverage remains decisive: our iron ore and coal exports are non-negotiable parts of Beijing's strategic calculus.

The deeper problem, he stresses, runs through economic governance itself. Australia has deindustrialised deliberately over three decades, shed critical capabilities in steel and advanced manufacturing, surrendered energy cost advantage and starved investment in domestic capability. Without deliberate recalibration – smaller government, redirection of trade partnerships, strategic investment incentives – Australia defaults towards clientelism.

Equally critical is the communication void. Defence industry leaders, board chairs of major firms and even policymakers routinely tell Babbage they were unaware of the scale of Chinese subversion, intellectual property theft and coordinated disintegration operations aimed at fracturing Western cohesion.

The path forward, he argues, demands frank public briefings, ruthless priority setting and abandonment of exhausted economic orthodoxies. Without it, Australia becomes the strategic backwater Beijing expects.

Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team

Australia's next strategic edge will be built beneath the waves, combining autonomous systems, artificial intelligence and AUKUS cooperation to reshape the underwater battlespace. In a special Defence Connect Podcast episode recorded for the ADSTAR 2026 summit, Admiral Stephen Hughes, on the eve of his retirement, and Chief of Air and Maritime Dr Ninh Duong outline how the succession of Defence Strategic Reviews since 2023 has crystallised a seismic shift in Australian naval posture. The Indo-Pacific underwater domain, they contend, has become irreversibly more contested, more congested and increasingly transparent – demanding not just new platforms, but fundamentally reimagined operational concepts. The centrepiece of this transformation remains Australia's commitment to conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines. But equally critical, ADML Hughes emphasises, is the emergence of a distributed, scalable ecosystem of uncrewed systems: the Ghost Shark extra-large autonomous underwater vehicle developed with Anduril, the C2 Robotics Speartooth platform and surface vessels like Ocius Bluebottle. These systems, he argues, function not as replacements for crewed capability, but as force multipliers – saturating the environment, absorbing risk and freeing high-end platforms to deliver the deterrent effect only sophisticated platforms can provide.

Yet the genuine strategic revolution lies not in platforms themselves but in the algorithms, payloads and interoperable control architectures that AUKUS Pillar 2 is cultivating. Dr Duong stresses that Australia's comparative advantage rests in the convergence of technologies: advanced sensing, edge processing, AI-enabled decision support, and the governance frameworks that will allow sovereign capability to scale across allied networks.

Both speakers emphasise a persistent communication gap: the failure of public discourse to articulate the integrated logic thread binding the National Defence Strategy, the Defence Industry Strategy, and emerging science and technology roadmaps. Without that coherence in messaging, they warn, political pressure and social media fragmentation risk fracturing public support for the whole ambitious edifice.

As Australia readies for the post-Hughes era, the maritime imperative remains unambiguous – and technologically, strategically and diplomatically complex. Enjoy the podcast, The Defence Connect team

In this week's podcast, Cyber Daily's Daniel Croft and David Hollingworth argue for sovereign Australian AI, catch up with the Origin Energy data breach, uncover a Court Services Victoria hack, and ponder the efficacy of taking a foreign chat platform to court over terror content. Should Aussie banks have access to Australian Taxation Office data to stop fraud? That's how the podcast kicks off, alongside the revelation that fraudsters are using AI to fake documents to secure massive bank loans. For Hollingworth and Croft, the answer is a resounding yes, which is also the case when it comes to sovereign AI capability, as Australian company Maincode brings its own coding agent online.

This week, Origin Energy revealed the extent of its recent data breach, while Court Services Victoria disclosed it had fallen victim to prolific hacker 2019. It's been a torrid time for data security in Australia, with even an insider threat rearing its head in a data breach at NSW Health.

Finally, the pair discuss whether or not eSafety can effectively sue chat platform Telegram over pro-terror content, while the Australian Communications and Media Authority said it is suing Optus over its Triple Zero failures last year.

Just another week in cyber security.

Enjoy, The Cyber Uncut team

How can Australia strengthen its future defence workforce while building sovereign industrial capability across shipbuilding, sustainment and advanced military technology? In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, Stephen Kuper, Robert Dougherty and Bethany Alvaro unpack a series of developments across Australia's defence and industrial landscape, including new pathways into higher education through the Australian Army Cadets, growth in the submarine supply chain and emerging defence industry opportunities.

Discussion includes a new initiative from James Cook University that recognises the Australian Army Cadets experience as part of university admissions and the role cadet programs can play in building future defence capability.

The team also examines major announcements linked to Australia's naval industrial base, including a contract awarded to Bisalloy Steels to support construction of Virginia Class submarines and the selection of a contractor to design a floating dry dock that will support Australia's future nuclear-powered submarine fleet.

Attention then turns to the announcement of a pre-feasibility study into a proposed new Australian oil refinery and the broader implications for national preparedness and economic security.

The panel also explores developments unveiled at the Farnborough International Airshow, including the appearance of the MQ-28 Ghost Bat alongside the Meteor beyond-visual-range missile, Boeing's plans to establish international manufacturing hubs, and growing international interest in next-generation combat aircraft programs such as the Global Combat Air Programme.

Rounding out the episode, the team discusses comments about the Ghost Shark, chemical weapons restrictions and facial recognition from Anduril founder Palmer Luckey.

Enjoy the podcast, The Defence Connect team

In this week's podcast, Cyber Daily's Daniel Croft and David Hollingworth cover what happens when AI goes wild, one of Australia's biggest energy providers discloses a data breach, and Premier Jacinta Allan goes after big tech. The podcast kicks off with a massive data breach impacting AI music-generating platform Suno, and the implications of OpenAI admitting it was one of its AI agents responsible for "malicious activity" targeting Hugging Face. AI breaking its own guardrails is a thing that is happening now, and it is something everyone in the field should be paying attention to.

Then it's on to the week in data breaches, and Hollingworth gets into the details of the Origin Energy hack, while Croft outlines the impact of an attack on a Coca-Cola subsidiary. Each one involves real impact, from personal data to company operations. And that's just the tip of the iceberg this week!

Finally, the pair find some solace in the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) revealing it found nothing wrong with Qantas in the wake of its own data breach in 2025, proving that you can do everything right when it comes to securing data, but still come to grief. And then there's good news out of Victoria, with the state government outlining its plans to tackle online harms without banning kids from social media, and limiting the spread of workplace surveillance.

Just another week in cyber security.

Enjoy, The Cyber Uncut team

As global security deteriorates, a major new UNSW Canberra survey reveals a startling paradox in the Australian psyche: unwavering trust in the Australian Defence Force, coupled with a deep misunderstanding of its operations, widespread apathy towards increased funding, and a shocking drop in support for traditional alliances.

Australia's relationship with the ADF is reaching a strange inflection point. Joining Steve Kuper on Contested Ground, UNSW Canberra's Dr Richard Dunley and Dr Nicole Townsend reveal how the latest public sentiment data exposes a dangerous disconnect between Canberra's strategic reality and the public's expectations.

At first glance, the report offers a comforting narrative for Defence leadership. Public trust in the ADF remains impressively high, holding steady from 2025. Nearly 70 per cent of Australians trust the ADF as an institution, and over 65 per cent trust it to act ethically.

However, as Dunley and Townsend reveal, this trust is built on a foundation of profound public ignorance.

Despite escalating global tensions, most respondents admitted they are uninformed about current ADF operations. This highlights a persistent and widening gap between the ADF's complex, widespread operational commitments and the Australian public's understanding of what their military actually does.

This lack of understanding is having tangible impacts on public policy appetite. The survey found that despite Australians reporting a deteriorating perception of global security, support for additional Defence funding has flatlined, remaining steady at roughly one-third of the population. More concerningly, the researchers noted a small but significant growth in the number of respondents actively favouring cuts to the Defence budget.

"Australians are feeling less secure, yet they aren't willing to pay more for security," Kuper says, driving to the heart of the paradox.

The public seems most comfortable viewing the ADF through the lens of a highly capable emergency management agency. There is overwhelming support – over 82 per cent – for the ADF's involvement in domestic disaster relief, and strong backing (68.4 per cent) for regional humanitarian assistance.

Yet, when it comes to hard power and traditional strategic posture, the survey reveals a dramatic shift. In a major departure from the 2025 data, support for the ADF operating closely with traditional allies – particularly the United States – has plummeted by nearly 20 per cent. While a slim majority (54.4 per cent) still support these alliances, outright opposition has spiked dramatically.

Conversely, the public shows a naive optimism towards regional security treaties. Australians broadly believe the recent mutual defence treaty with Papua New Guinea will enhance security, even though only 37 per cent of respondents actually knew the treaty existed.

A similar trend of "sentiment over substance" emerged regarding veterans. While the public strongly supports government initiatives for veterans, there is a distinct lack of awareness regarding actual veteran issues or policies.

Join Kuper, Dunley, and Townsend on Contested Ground as they dissect these findings and ask the critical question: Can the ADF rely on public trust if that trust is blind?

Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team

How prepared is Australia for a more contested strategic environment, and what role can defence industry, emerging technology, and economic resilience play in strengthening national security?

In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, Stephen Kuper, Robert Dougherty, and Bethany Alvaro unpack key insights from the inaugural Australian Defence Industry Accelerator Summit and the Australian Defence Industry Awards, alongside broader discussions about Australia's preparedness for future security challenges.

Discussion includes concerns raised by defence and national security experts regarding Australia's readiness for potential conflict in the Indo-Pacific, particularly in relation to growing tensions surrounding Taiwan and strategic implications of China's military modernisation.

The team explores commentary from former diplomats and strategic analysts on Australia's response to China's growing regional influence.

Attention then turns to defence spending, public perceptions of national security investment, and the challenges governments face in balancing cost-of-living pressures with the need to strengthen military capability.

The team also examines forecasts for artificial intelligence-driven productivity gains, the likelihood of a correction in the AI investment boom and the economic risks posed by instability in the Middle East.

Rounding out the episode, the panel discusses collaboration between Defence and industry, strengthening cyber security practices and streamlining defence exports.

Enjoy the podcast, The Defence Connect team

Join Cyber Daily's David Hollingworth and Securonix's senior vice president for Asia-Pacific and Japan, Ajay Biyani, to break down why the challenge for organisations isn't replacing analysts – it's giving them the tools they need.

Security operations centres are under unprecedented pressure as cyber attacks become faster, more sophisticated and increasingly powered by AI. At the same time, security teams are expected to do more without additional staff or budget. Rather than replacing people, Biyani contends, AI is proving most valuable by filtering out false positives, correlating data across disconnected security tools, and allowing analysts to concentrate on genuine threats, threat hunting and incident response.

As AI agents become more common across enterprises, security teams will also need visibility into machine identities and automated systems, creating an entirely new attack surface that demands modern security operations and AI-assisted defence.

The message for business leaders is clear: modernise security operations now or risk falling behind attackers already using AI to their advantage. Investing in AI-powered security isn't about reducing headcount – it's about empowering analysts, improving resilience, and ensuring the organisation is prepared for the inevitable cyber incident before it happens.

Enjoy, The Cyber Uncut Team