OzCyber Unlocked

AUCyberscape is Australia’s first consolidated online destination for understanding Australia’s cyber security capabilities. It provides interactive visibility of Australian cyber security products and services available on the economy and will highlight trends, issues and opportunities in the industry. Further, it collects data that demonstrates the breadth of capability and growth of the sector, together with its ability to be globally competitive as it scales.

The platform, which is free to users and providers, allows Australian cyber security companies to showcase their products, services, business solutions and sector experience; connect with customers; and access information to support their company development and growth.

Businesses, government, investors and individuals can understand more about cyber security and their cyber security needs; search for and directly connect with Australian cyber security companies; and learn about cyber security career pathways and education opportunities.

In episode nine of ‘OzCyber Unlocked’, AustCyber’s CEO Michelle Price speaks to Scott Gunther (General Partner at IAG Firemark Ventures), Professor Lesley Seebeck (Honorary Professor at the ANU), Prerana Mehta (Chief of Ecosystem Development at AustCyber) and Eddie Sheehy (tech entrepreneur, investor, and non-executive director at Secure Code Warrior) about the value of AUCyberscape to the sector.

This month’s ‘cyber spotlight’ features Tony Smales from Forticode. Through their patented, bi-directional cryptographic process that is fully auditable and tamper proof, Forticode’s product ‘Cipherise’ provides a universal method for authenticating people, accepting and tracking approvals, communicating, and collecting digital signatures.

For more information about the organisations featured, visit:

• AUCyberscape: www.aucyberscape.com
• AustCyber: www.austcyber.com 
• IAG: www.iag.com.au
• Forticode: www.forticode.com
• Cipherise: https://cipherise.com

In this special episode of ‘OzCyber Unlocked’, Michelle Price speaks to Alex Scandurra, CEO of Stone & Chalk, about the recent merger between AustCyber and Stone & Chalk to boost Australia’s sovereign domestic industrial capability in critical and emerging technologies. 

By coming together, the organisations will provide startups and scale-ups with greater access to domestic and international customers, capital, talent and expertise. This will create highly-skilled jobs for Australians and to retain economic benefit as emerging tech industries grow. 

The partnership will also see Australian cyber security and emerging technology founders receive access to the full suite of Stone & Chalk’s commercialisation support services. In turn, Stone & Chalk’s emerging tech founders will receive vital support and expertise from AustCyber to ensure they are ‘secure by design’ before they write their very first line of code. 

Together, the organisations will provide a powerful voice to better shape the policy and regulatory landscape for critical and emerging tech products and services.

For more information about the merger, visit www.shapingthefuturetogether.com.au. 

For more information about the individual organisations featured, visit:

• AustCyber: www.austcyber.com
• Stone & Chalk: www.stoneandchalk.com.au

Key resources from both organisations:

• Australia’s Digital Trust Report 2020
• Australia’s Cyber Security Sector Competitiveness Plan 2020
• Capital Raising Guide for Startups

Cyber security standards and guidance play a key role in improving the security of data, assets, systems, networks and critical infrastructure. Well-developed, practical and verifiable standards, along with their supporting information in the form of guidance, enables consistency in cyber security practices and encourages competitiveness among developers, responders, managers and organisations.

Last year, the NSW Cyber Security Standards Harmonisation Taskforce was convened to accelerate the adoption of harmonised Australian standards for cyber security, with NSW as the pilot state in Australia.

This month, the Taskforce is releasing its Recommendations Report.

In episode seven of ‘OzCyber Unlocked’, we speak to the Hon. Victor Dominello MP (NSW Minister for Customer Service), Prerana Mehta (Chief of Ecosystem Development at AustCyber) and Dr Jed Horner (Policy Manager at Standards Australia) about the benefit to Australia’s economy of having a common set of cyber security standards, high-level takeaways from the Recommendations Report, and how the NSW Government is building a robust cyber security ecosystem.

This month’s ‘cyber spotlight’ features Tracie Thompson from HackHunter. HackHunter is a rapidly growing Australian cyber security IoT provider who recently launched its portable Pursuit WiFi tracker, which detects and locates the source of unauthorised and potentially malicious WiFi with precision.

For more information about the organisations featured, visit:

• AustCyber: www.austcyber.com
• Standards Australia: www.standards.org.au
• Service NSW: www.service.nsw.gov.au
• The Hon. Minister Dominello’s office: www.nsw.gov.au/nsw-government/ministers/minister-for-customer-service
• HackHunter: https://hackhunter.io/

In episode six of ‘OzCyber Unlocked’, Michelle Price is joined by members of the AustCyber team to reflect on 2020 and discuss highlights from the year.

Guests include:

• Prerana Mehta – Chief of Ecosystem Development
• Tony Stubbs – Chief Operating Officer
• Olivia Grandjean-Thomsen – Communication, Events and Engagement Lead
• Tom Finnigan – Media, Public Relations and Engagement Lead
• Judy Anderson – Government Relations and Advocacy Lead
• Linda Cavanagh – National Network Lead
• Michelle Mosey – US Ecosystem Development Lead
• Anita Shepherd – Executive Officer
• Walkiria Perez – Project Lead, Ecosystem Development
• Kathleen Moorby – Project Lead, AuCyberscape
• Jack Bell – Project Officer

To learn more about AustCyber’s programs and initiatives, visit www.austcyber.com. 

Cyber security continues to be one of the most rapidly expanding sectors worldwide, with global spending on cyber security products and services increasing by 30 per cent from 2017 to 2020. This year alone, Australians spent approximately A$5.6 billion on cyber security from both local and international providers, a figure that is expected to increase to A$7.6 billion by 2024. 

 The 2020 update to Australia’s Cyber Security Sector Competitiveness Plan, also known as the SCP, draws on extensive industry consultation and research to provide a fresh picture of the global outlook, challenges, opportunities and priority actions needed to grow a vibrant and globally competitive cyber security sector that enhances Australia’s future economic growth. 

Last year’s deep dive explored the underlying structural challenges of not yet having robust measurement of the sector’s development. This year, through market and administrative data, as well as insights from AustCyber’s inaugural sector-wide Digital Census, we have produced the first comprehensive measurement of the Australian cyber security sector – including state-by-state analysis.  

These fresh insights have allowed us to uncover the current state of the sector, outline the potential for the next growth phase and describe how to accelerate the momentum the sector has developed over the past five years. 

In episode five of ‘OzCyber Unlocked’, we speak to Toby Brennan (COO and Director, AlphaBeta Australia, part of Accenture), Jacqui Nelson (CEO, Dekko Secure), Gemma Cosgriff (National Head of Partnerships, Stone & Chalk) and Dr Tobias Feakin (Ambassador for Cyber Affairs and Critical Technology, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) about how the data was collected and analysed, market barriers, strategies for growth, and how we can capture global export opportunities.  

This month’s ‘cyber spotlight’ features Andrew Eddy from Untapped. Untapped is a network of autism professionals, recruiters, software developers, training providers, researchers and workplace consultants, all passionate about neurodiversity inclusion. Their mission is to build high-performing teams from groups of highly skilled individuals. They look for commercially compelling opportunities in organisations for neurodiverse teams and uncover extraordinary individuals to form those teams.  

For more information about the organisations featured, visit:

• Australia’s Cyber Security Sector Competitiveness Plan: https://www.austcyber.com/resources/sector-competitiveness-plan
• AlphaBeta Australia (part of Accenture): www.alphabeta.com
• Dekko Secure: www.decuresecure.com
• Stone & Chalk: www.stoneandchalk.com.au
• Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: www.dfat.gov.au 
• Untapped: www.untapped-group.com

Australian Cyber Week 2020 is the fourth annual showcase of Australia’s vibrant and dynamic cyber security sector, being held in a virtual format from 26-30 October. 

Cyber Week provides opportunities for Australian cyber security and related organisations to showcase their capabilities and network with peers, potential investors and customers. It also provides a great way for cyber curious individuals and organisations to better understand what cyber security can do and mean for them. 

This year, we have 30 online and (COVID-safe) in-person events and activities – spanning the full breadth of the cyber security landscape for those within the sector, but also well beyond.  

In episode four of ‘OzCyber Unlocked’, we speak to a range of guests and partners featured during Australian Cyber Week 2020, including:

• James Turner – Founder of CISO Lens
• Scott Handsaker – CEO of CyRise
• Tamara Baker – Australian Cyber Week 2019 ‘champion’ and a year 10 school student with aspirations for a career in cyber security
• Neil Templeman – Director at Baidam Solutions

We focus specifically on two events – ‘Sky’s the Limit’ and ‘Culture shock – barriers to diversity are the barriers to growth’ and discuss:

• The role of private sector in building a secure Australia
• How pitching to corporates is different from pitching to government
• Why it’s so hard for Australian companies to get noticed and how companies can ‘stand out’
• The barriers to diversity in the Australian cyber security sector 
• What can be done now to improve inclusivity in the workforce 

This month’s ‘cyber spotlight’ features Casey Ellis from Bugcrowd. Bugcrowd is a crowdsourced security platform. It’s one of the first companies to embrace and utilise crowdsourced security and cyber security researchers as linchpins of its business model. Founded in 2011, Bugcrowd has grown into one of the largest bug bounty and vulnerability disclosure companies on the internet.

For more information about the organisations featured, visit:

• CISO Lens: www.cisolens.com
• CyRise: www.cyrise.co 
• Baidam Solutions: www.baidam.com.au 
• Bugcrowd: www.bugcrowd.com

To register for Australian Cyber Week 2020, visit www.cyberweek2020.austcyber.com.

Since Australia’s 2016 Cyber Security Strategy was released, the cyber security industry has grown from a nascent part of the Australian economy into a significant ecosystem of capability, creating both local and export growth opportunities. 

​On 6 August 2020, the Australian Government released its next iteration in cyber policy through Australia’s Cyber Security Strategy 2020. Over the next 10 years, $1.67 billion will be spent on supporting actions set out in the strategy. 

But what does this mean for the sector? What are the opportunities? What was missed? How can industry fill the gaps?

In episode three of ‘OzCyber Unlocked’, we speak to Hamish Hansford (First Assistant Secretary of National Security and Law Enforcement Policy, Department of Home Affairs), Kylie Walker (CEO, Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering) and Fergus Hanson (Director of the International Cyber Policy Centre, Australian Strategic Policy Institute) about the likely impact of the strategy on the economy and national interests, the importance of upskilling the nation, and the value of technology in fighting cybercrime.

This month’s ‘cyber spotlight’ features Susie Jones and Adam Selwood from Cynch Security. Cynch partner with small businesses, continuously profiling their cyber risks and providing the people at the heart of these businesses with the things they need to build and demonstrate cyber fitness in less than five minutes at a time, at a price they can afford.

For more information about the organisations featured, visit:

• Department of Home Affairs and Australia’s Cyber Security Strategy 2020: https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/about-us/our-portfolios/cyber-security/strategy
• Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE): https://www.atse.org.au/
• Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI): https://www.aspi.org.au/
• Cynch Security: https://cynch.com.au/
• Industry Mentoring Network in STEM (IMNIS): https://imnis.org.au/
• Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE): https://www.sciencegenderequity.org.au/ 
• Male Champions of Change: https://malechampionsofchange.com/ 
• Daily Cyber Digest: https://aspiicpc.substack.com/ 

The issue of missing persons in Australia is complex and multifaceted. Over 38,000 missing persons reports are submitted to police every year in Australia. 

In this episode, we dive into the topic of OSINT (open-source intelligence) and explore how AustCyber partnered with the Australian Federal Police and Trace Labs last year to hold the National Missing Persons Hackathon – a new and creative way to reach, and engage with, the Australian community to highlight that the issue of missing persons is a community one, not just an issue for police, and cyber security has an important role to play.

We focus on:

• Why and how people in Australia go missing
• The challenges facing law enforcement when it comes to locating missing persons
• How crowdsourced OSINT benefits law enforcement
• The outcomes of the 2019 National Missing Persons Hackathon
• The 2020 National Missing Persons Hackathon and how you can get involved!

Guests include Trish Halligan (Team Leader, National Missing Persons Coordination Centre), Chris Poulter (Founder and CEO, OSINT Combine) and Linda Cavanagh (National Network Lead at AustCyber and founder of the National Missing Persons Hackathon).

This month’s ‘cyber spotlight’ features Tony Surtees from laava.id. laava.id is an Australian business bringing innovative, secure marking and consumer engagement technology to brands in the fight against global counterfeiters – especially in Australian export markets. Built in collaboration with the CSIRO, Laava Smart Fingerprints help to safeguard businesses against loss of market share and reputational damage.

For more information about the organisations featured, visit:

• 2020 National Missing Persons Hackathon: www.missingpersonshackathon.com.au 
• AustCyber: www.austcyber.com
• The National Missing Persons Coordination Centre: https://missingpersons.gov.au/
• OSINT Combine: www.osintcombine.com and https://academy.osintcombine.com. To learn more about the Advanced OSINT Course, visit https://academy.osintcombine.com/p/advanced-open-source-intelligence-course1
• Trace Labs: https://www.tracelabs.org/
• laava.id: https://www.laava.id/

Australia’s digital infrastructure and the data it carries are core to the value and growth of the nation’s economy.

In this episode, we dive into AustCyber’s new report – Australia’s Digital Trust Report 2020 – which highlights the role digital trust plays in attracting investment and driving jobs growth.

Guests include John Paitaridis (CEO of CyberCX), Matthew Wilson (CEO of Penten) and Sam Crowther (Founder of Kasada).

For more information about AustCyber, visit www.austcyber.com.