In this episode of the Security Insider Podcast, we speak with Anna Harris about “Why Standards Matter”.

Anna is a Principal Advisor Information Security, within the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner (OVIC). OVIC administers the Privacy and Data Protection Act (2014) and the Freedom of Information Act (1982) regulating three main areas:

• Protective data security / Information Security

• Privacy

• Freedom of Information

Anna has worked with OVIC and the former offices of the Commissioner for Privacy and Data Protection (CPDP) and the Commissioner for Law Enforcement Data Security (CLEDS) for the past 9 years, leading the delivery of the first regulated information security regime across the Victorian Government. This is more commonly referred to as the Victorian Protective Data Security Framework (VPDSF), and the Victorian Protective Data Security Standards (VPDSS).

Anna’s extensive experience in information security stems from working at the Department of Defence, and various Victorian departments such as Justice as well as Human Services. In addition, Anna holds numerous information security certifications and is a member of two Standards Australia committees MB-025 Security and Resilience and IT-012 Information security, cybersecurity and privacy protection working alongside co-presenter Jason Brown.

This knowledge has provided a solid background on information security and assisted with the development of the Framework and Standards.