Western Australia

Innovation Hub

Latest news and events

WA initiative launched to boost security for Australia’s non-profit sector

A West Australian-led international collaboration is boosting security aimed at helping Australia’s vulnerable non-profit sector defend…

AustCyber- Cybersecurity and small business as critical infrastructure in Australia

Purchase consumer goods like a Smart TV or fridge as part of a stimulus package and one government dollar invested will create $1.50 in the…

Cyber Resilience In The COVID-19 Era: Lessons For Defence Industry

Key Points: In the new environment of COVID-19 and distributed workforces the nature, type and volume of cyber attacks have increased.…

About the Node

The Western Australian AustCyber Innovation Hub (WAACIH) was established in 2018 under the State Government’s New Industries Fund (NIF) to grow and diversify the economy and create employment in the cyber security sector. Headquartered at Edith Cowan University in the Joondalup Innovation Hub, the WAACIH is part of the AustCyber National Network of Cyber Security Innovation nodes, a series of bilateral partnerships between AustCyber and Australia’s eight State and Territory governments, which fosters and accelerates cyber capability development, innovation and commercialisation across Australia.

The WAACIH focuses principally on local (WA) capability development and challenges in order to create jobs, with commitment to national priorities as defined by AustCyber’s strategy and 2019 Sector Competitiveness Plan (SCP). A strong component of the hub’s objectives is to foster innovation through public and private collaboration. The hub engages across multiple sectors in WA including mining oil and gas; agriculture, freight and logistics, defence, and technology transfer opportunities with digitally focussed small and medium-sized enterprises.

The three themes of the hub are critical infrastructure, cybercrime and big data. Direct and indirect job growth for the state fall within the remit of the hub. The WAACIH works closely with state government, industry, business associations and academic institutions in WA. The strategic objective and implementation of the workplan is guided by an Industry Advisory Board. The board members are responsible for overseeing the strategic operations and implementation of the hub’s agreed activities.

In partnership with:

Mining
Oil and gas services
Agritech

Programs

MentorSec

West Coast Cyber

Cyber Saturdays

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About the Hub Director

Dr. Ian Martinus was appointed in January 2019 to lead the WA AustCyber Innovation Hub and focuses on working closely with counterparts around Australia and in neighbouring countries to implement the strategic vision of the SCP for the cyber security industry.

Dr Martinus has experience in the private and government sectors including economic development, trade and investment and corporate strategic ventures in the United States, Asia and the Middle East. He brings to the role significant global experience in dealing with companies and their unique intellectual property and technology transfer opportunities.

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About the Project and Engagement Coordinator

A former high school media studies teacher, Simon Carabetta has brought his love of educating and speaking with others into his role as Project and Engagement Coordinator at the WA AustCyber Innovation Hub. A relative ‘newbie’ to the cyber security industry, Simon developed a keen interest in understanding why people fall for online scams while doing an overseas teaching stint in Dubai. It was this curiosity of social engineering and the ’human factor’ in cyber attacks that led Simon to pursue a career in this industry.

Simon was the architect behind the first employee cyber education program at Water Corporation in 2019 and it was through building his network and knowledge of the mechanisms within the cyber security industry, that he became part of the AustCyber team.

Simon has a bachelor in Communications and a Graduate Diploma in Secondary Education from Edith Cowan University.