OzCyber Unlocked

To celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March, Michelle Price sits down with three leading women in cyber and technology. Joining us on episode 19 of OzCyber Unlocked is Kate Pounder, Chief Executive Officer of The Technology Council of Australia, Professor Lesley Seebeck, Honorary Professor at the ANU and in our spotlight, we’re joined by Melinda Cilento, CEO of CEDA. 

Despite the clear business case for gender parity, women are still significantly underrepresented in senior executive teams across the nation’s top public companies, as well as being underrepresented in the pipeline for these roles. 

In this episode, Michelle Price asks our panel about how we can get more women in to positions of power and why only there are only 18 women leading companies in Australia’s top 300 listed ASX companies. 

We’re also discussing some sobering statistics found by the 2021 Australian Census that it will take 65 years for women to hold 40 percent of executive leadership positions in Australia and whether gender quotas are helping women or hindering them. 

Kate and Lesley reflect on their careers, offer some fantastic advice and talk about why stereotypes and discrimination have no place in our modern society. 

For the special edition of our spotlight, Melinda Cilento speaks about the economic cost of a lack of diversity and what benefits diversity and inclusion can bring to not only the financial side of a business, but day-to-day operations. In fact, Melinda points us to research out of Canada that shows organisations that had three or more female board members, managed cyber security risks better than those with fewer. 

“The more diversity and inclusion – the better” 

Useful links:

Australia's gender equality scorecard: https://www.wgea.gov.au/publications/australias-gender-equality-scorecard

 CEW Census: https://cew.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/CEW-Census-2021-Media-Release-210908.pdf

https://apo.org.au/node/313941#:~:text=Key%202021%20findings%20include%3A,%2Dlisted%20companies%20(6.2%25)

It’s our first episode of OzCyber Unlocked for 2022! This month, AustCyber's CEO Michelle Price speaks to two passionate advocates for building Australia’s next generation of cyber employees - Evan Williams, the Australian Director at Microsoft 365 Business Group and Dr Bobby Cerini, Questacon’s General Manager of Science and Learning & Deputy Director.

Dr Cerini runs us through Questacon’s new Australian Cyber Ready Program, which was launched during Australian Cyber Week. Designed for students aged 8-13 and their teachers, the program aims to improve cyber security skills, awareness and job readiness through a series of interactive and creative challenges. 

AustCyber has also partnered with Microsoft to deliver a new Cyber Security Traineeship Program. Mr Williams discusses why this program is important for participants, industry and our economy, and explains how cyber ‘boot camps’ will encourage anyone from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines to get involved in the sector with a focus on diversifying the talent pool.

We also discuss how we can continue to build, inspire and ensure programs such as these continue well into the future. 

This month, our spotlight features Dr James Curran from Grok Academy. A not-for-profit organisation, Grok Academy is the amalgamation of the Australian Computing Academy (ACA) and Grok Learning. Their focus is to educate, empower and inform through learning platforms, curriculum, professional development, and teaching resources. 

Useful links: 

• Questacon’s Cyber Ready Program – https://www.questacon.edu.au/cyber-ready-program
• Questions –  [email protected]
• Cyber Security Traineeship Program (site to be relaunched soon) –  https://www.megt.com.au/news/2019/12/cyber-security-traineeship-program 
• Volunteer at Grok Academy – grokacademy.org or [email protected] 

This month, we look back at what has been one of the most challenging years on record. The pandemic and lockdowns dictated changes to our ways of working. On the upside, we all became more deeply connected to the cyber physical world around us. Unfortunately, it also meant greater risk from cyber criminals and foreign state actors.

In episode seventeen of ‘OzCyber Unlocked’, AustCyber’s CEO Michelle Price speaks to Hamish Hansford (Group Manager and Head of the Cyber and Infrastructure Security Centre at the Department of Home Affairs) and Chris Painter, (President of The Global Forum on Cyber Expertise Foundation) about how the speed of change has exposed new vulnerabilities; how we can protect our digital borders; the progression of critical infrastructure legislation; the ongoing cyber skills shortage in Australia, and the big trends that will have an impact on 2022 and beyond.

This month, our cyber spotlight features Vikrim Sharma (Founder and CEO of Quintessence Labs). In a world where data is too important to be compromised, Quintessence Labs delivers powerful data protection, enhanced by the quantum power of nature. This includes centralised enterprise key and policy management, a high-speed true random number generator, an integrated hardware security module, and highly secure encryption for data in uncontrolled environments.

For more information about the organisations featured, visit:

• Cyber and Infrastructure Security Centre at the Department of Home Affairs: www.cisc.gov.au
• The Global Forum on Cyber Expertise Foundation: www.thegfce.org 
• Quintessence Labs: www.quintessencelabs.com

Catch up previous episodes of ‘OzCyber Unlocked’ during the Christmas break:

• Under siege: Are we ready for a cyber attack on Australia’s hospital system?: https://bit.ly/3m5wv0E
• The state of Australian cyber – 2021 observations from retired MAJGEN Dr Marcus Thompson: https://bit.ly/3dOsU2y
• Intentional or unintentional? The impact of insider threats: https://bit.ly/3ueW4ix
• The Essential Eight – keeping your digital infrastructure secure: https://bit.ly/3lW2LCu
• Cyber threat intelligence – a deep dive into why it matters: https://bit.ly/2ZEd4nr
• 'Cyber shift’ – how do we improve diversity & workplace culture to enact real change?: https://bit.ly/3m22bDh
• Pathways into cyber security – how to plan, upskill and maximise career opportunities: https://bit.ly/2XTrJtJ

On Monday 25 October, as part of Australian Cyber Week 2021, we hosted our first ‘AustCyber after dark’ session where we stepped through the facets of a hypothetical cyber-attack on a hospital – the impacts on and responses of the medical system, government, crucial parts of our society and how it could impact us all.

Through the eyes of Australia’s top cyber experts, including Matthew Nevin (CEO of Cybermerc), John Ellis (CISO of Bupa), Chris Painter (President of the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise) and Jessica Hunter (Acting First Assistant Director-General at the Australian Cyber Security Centre), the audience heard how Australia would respond should a potentially devastating cyber incident occur and importantly, how ready we are.

This episode was recorded live and is now released as a special edition of ‘OzCyber Unlocked’. The episode features an opening address by the Hon Karen Andrews MP, Minister for Home Affairs, and is hosted by AustCyber’s CEO Michelle Price. 

In episode fifteen of ‘OzCyber Unlocked’, host Michelle Price reflects on the topics of our past five episodes with retired MAJGEN Dr Marcus Thompson AM, a regular listener of this podcast. 

Among many things, Marcus runs his own advisory, Cyber Compass, is a strategic advisor at ParaFlare, a senior advisor to Macquarie Telecom Group, and a Director at Penten and Engineers Australia. He is also the immediate past and inaugural Head of Information Warfare for the Australian Defence Force.  

Deliberately, the topics of our last several pods are topical for all Australian organisations. This includes insider threats, the Australian Government’s Essential Eight mitigations for managing cyber risk, cyber threat intelligence, diversity in Australia’s cyber workforce and careers and pathways in the cyber industry. 

Discussion traverses these topics as they relate to the various cyber-physical challenges currently faced by the economy, the impending critical infrastructure legislative changes, and the heightened awareness around cyber-attack methods including ransomware.

This month, our cyber spotlight features Ben Whitham, Co-founder and General Manager at Penten. Founded in 2014, Penten is one of Australia’s fastest growing and successful cyber security companies focused on innovation in secure mobility, applied artificial intelligence and tactical communications security.

Useful links:

• Harmonised taxonomies of security and resilience: a suitable foundation for the security discipline (a thesis by Marcus Thompson): https://bit.ly/3zKGso0
• MITRE ATT&CK: https://attack.mitre.org/
• ‘Australian organisations are quietly paying hackers millions in a 'tsunami of cyber crime' (James Purtill, 16 July, ABC Science): https://ab.co/3CTg4dV
• Essential Eight (Australian Government; Australian Signals Directorate): https://bit.ly/3m0GlA0
• Penten: www.penten.com
• Penten’s Export Commercialisation Playbook for Australian Cyber Startups (UK Edition): https://bit.ly/3EU0tfR

Catch up on the past five episodes of ‘OzCyber Unlocked’:

• Intentional or unintentional? The impact of insider threats: https://bit.ly/3ueW4ix
• The Essential Eight – keeping your digital infrastructure secure: https://bit.ly/3lW2LCu
• Cyber threat intelligence – a deep dive into why it matters: https://bit.ly/2ZEd4nr
• 'Cyber shift’ – how do we improve diversity & workplace culture to enact real change?: https://bit.ly/3m22bDh
• Pathways into cyber security – how to plan, upskill and maximise career opportunities: https://bit.ly/2XTrJtJ

One subject that often flies under the radar in the world of cyber security is insider threats. But this is a very real risk for Australian businesses. Some of today’s most damaging security threats do not originate from malicious outsiders or malware, but from trusted insiders with access to sensitive data and systems. 

In episode fourteen of ‘OzCyber Unlocked’, AustCyber’s CEO Michelle Price speaks to Tracie Thompson (CEO and Co-Founder of HackHunter) and Dan Holman (CEO and Co-founder of WorldStack) about how human and technical threats are used to steal IP that is used in a variety of nefarious ways by cyber criminals. 

This month, our ‘cyber spotlight’ features Adam Bennett (CEO and Founder of Red Piranha). Red Piranha is an Australian cyber security company that has built a comprehensive platform of threat management tools that ensures advanced protection, threat detection and incident response.

For more information about the organisations featured, visit:

• HackHunter: www.hackhunter.io
• WorldStack: www.worldstack.io
• Red Piranha: www.redpiranha.net

Additional links to products mentioned during the podcast:

• WiFi Pineapple and O.MG Cable available at https://hak5.org/
• BBC video about Molka WiFi camera plague in South Korea: https://youtu.be/ggYIsnUgUdU

Since the start of the pandemic, global digitization has accelerated at breakneck speed, and as we have seen in the news, cyber-attacks are impacting more and more businesses and individuals than ever before. 

This month, we ask how the Essential Eight is working for Australian organisations and discuss recent news that the federal government is set to mandate the Essential Eight cyber security controls for all 98 non-corporate Commonwealth entities. This comes four years after they were released as an evolution on the Top 4 mitigation strategies – the key strategies from the framework of 35 strategies developed as a leading set of practices by the Australian Signals Directorate over a decade ago.

What does this mean for your organisation and cyber security readiness? How does this align with the other standards for cyber security practice and of course, cyber security regulations and legislation? Does the Essential Eight offer an approach to cyber security beyond government and large business? 

In episode thirteen of ‘OzCyber Unlocked’, AustCyber’s US Ecosystem Development Lead Michelle Mosey speaks to Suzy Clarke (Executive GM for Security at accounting software company Xero), Keith Howard (Group CISO at the Commonwealth Bank), Jennifer Stockwell (National Cyber Security Principal at Telstra) and Andrew Pade (General Manager Cyber Defence Operations at Commonwealth Bank and former Head of Cyber Security at the Reserve Bank of Australia).

This month, our ‘cyber spotlight’ features David Cottingham from Airlock Digital. Airlock Digital is an Australian cyber security company that enables you to easily create and manage secure allowlists, what you might know as whitelists. In the simplest of terms, Airlock’s platform provides the management of programs and files on your allowlist – if it’s not on the list, it will not run.

For more information about the organisations featured, visit:

• Xero: www.xero.com.au
• Xero on Air (Episode 14: A simple approach to cyber security): https://youtu.be/cEgBedteiAE
• Commonwealth Bank: www.commbank.com.au/support/security.html
• Telstra: www.telstra.com.au/cyber-security
• Airlock Digital: www.airlockdigital.com

Cyber threat intelligence is a hot topic in security right now. Over the past year, we have seen wide-spread geopolitical destabilisation, COVID-19, the rise of the remote workforce and most recently, significant ransomware attacks against critical infrastructure. 

Broadly, threat intelligence is about sharing information between industry, academia and government so Australians can work together to defend their networks from attack and start to form a collective defence.

In episode twelve of ‘OzCyber Unlocked’, AustCyber’s CEO Michelle Price speaks to Glenn Maiden (Director of Threat Intelligence at Fortiguard Labs Australia and New Zealand, Fortinet), Brett Williams (Lead Solutions Architect Asia Pacific & Japan at Flashpoint), Andrew Slater (Director of AUSHIELD at Cybermerc) and Dave O’Loan (Head of Cyber Relations at Australia’s Academic and Research Network) to discuss threat intelligence, collaboration and how industry is building a collective defence against cyber attacks.

This month, our ‘cyber spotlight’ features Michael Gianarakis from Assetnote. Combining advanced asset discovery with continuous, high-signal security monitoring, Assetnote’s Attack Surface Management platform gives complete, continuous visibility into your evolving attack surface.

For more information about the organisations featured, visit:

• Fortiguard Labs: www.fortiguard.com
• Flashpoint: www.flashpoint-intel.com
• Cybermerc: www.cybermerc.com
• Australia’s Academic and Research Network: www.aarnet.edu.au
• Assetnote: www.assetnote.io

What is diversity? What does a toxic culture look like in practice? What are the main issues or challenges that our sector needs to tackle?

In episode eleven of ‘OzCyber Unlocked’, AustCyber’s CEO Michelle Price speaks to Jacqui Loustau (Founder of the Australian Women in Security Network), Jinan Budge (Principal Analyst at Forrester), Tony Vizza (Director of Cyber Security Advocacy for the Asia-Pacific Region at (ISC)²), Jacqueline Kernot (Cyber Security Partner at EY) and Laura Lees (Sydney Co-Chapter Lead at AWSN and Vice President of the ISACA Sydney Chapter) about what can be done to address a toxic culture for individuals, leaders and organisations.

This month, our ‘cyber spotlight’ features Louisa Partridge and Louisa Vogelenzang who co-founded Women Speak Cyber – a social enterprise that equips Australian women with the essential public speaking training and skills they need to present at cyber security conferences.

To register for the upcoming ‘Cyber shift’ event (held on 21 July) mentioned during the podcast, visit https://bit.ly/3gcEe9j. 

Note: This podcast episode deals with serious and potentially distressing and triggering topics. If you feel at any time, you need support, please contact your local crisis centre or visit https://bit.ly/3imBWaz.

This episode, as part of our commitment to enacting change, our speakers share tangible actions to help strengthen culture and diversity:

• If you see someone finding it difficult to express their ideas or to be heard in meetings, help support by amplifying their message and offer to mentor.
• If good people are leaving your team, talk to them to learn what you can do to improve and do something about it!
• Take a chance and hire two people at the same time who have different backgrounds and show good aptitude and attitude.
• Ask – when I look at my team, does their diversity reflect the world outside and the clients or business partners we engage with, or do they look like me? 
• Put in place meaningful and tangible programs around diversity, equity and inclusion that provide a measurable benefit to women in your organisation. As part of this, get men on board! Sadly, some men do feel threatened by DEI programs and in fact, some have even blamed these programs for why they themselves may have missed out on a promotion. It is critical to disarm this continuing myth that DEI programs will harm their careers. 
• While capability is important, character and attitude is everything. Create a culture of success and a constructive can-do attitude.  Reward hard work and displays of great attitudes with the recognition that people deserve.  Instill an attitude that anyone in the organisation can be a leader. If they see poor conduct, call it out the right way and help the individual be a better person.
• Acknowledge, name and deal with toxicity. Hoping that things will ‘fix themselves’ isn’t on – hope isn’t a strategy. Be prepared to make the tough calls. 
• Empathy is your antidote to toxicity – as the old adage says, ‘People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care.’ If you’re a leader, your team needs to know that they're supported emotionally. That will require you to listen, walk the floor, and validate and recognise their contributions.
• Correct culture problems before they metastasize – weed out the misunderstood geniuses in the interview process, coach empathy, and encourage and role model positive behaviour.

What roles are available in the cyber security industry? What qualities do employers look for? 

Currently, there is a shortage of skilled cyber security workers around the world. In Australia, the pipeline needs to continue to expand to meet the sector’s – and the economy’s – growth needs. The workforce is estimated to increase to 33,500 by 2024, with around 7,000 workers requiring training over the next four years.

In episode ten of ‘OzCyber Unlocked’, AustCyber’s CEO Michelle Price speaks to Paul Nevin (Co-founder and CTO of Cybermerc), Timothy McKay (Founder and CEO of OK RDY), Matthew Jorgensen (Project Manager at the ACS) and Will Markow (Managing Director at Burning Glass Technologies) about their career journeys, pathways into the sector and how to take advantage of opportunities such as mentoring and certification. 

This month, our ‘cyber spotlight’ features Susie Barber and Rebecca Vivian from the University of Adelaide. The university was awarded a project to the value of approximately $300,000 as part of AustCyber’s Projects Fund to develop the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to provide cyber focused resources and challenges to support and encourage Australian schoolteachers in national cyber security education efforts.

For more information about the organisations featured, visit:

• Cybermerc: www.cybermerc.com 
• OK RDY: www.okrdy.com 
• Australian Computer Society: www.acs.org.au 
• Burning Glass Technologies: www.burning-glass.com
• CyberSeek: www.cyberseek.com.au 
• University of Adelaide MOOC: https://csermoocs.adelaide.edu.au/news/list/2020/06/25/new-moocs-on-teaching-cyber-security-awareness

Useful links:

• OKRDY Cyber Edition Mini Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8NyXb7MOxw 
• Australian Computer Society’s ICT Gateway program: https://qldictgisp.acs.org.au/home.html