Today, The Hon Melissa Price, Minister for Defence Industry and Minister for Science and Technology, will launch AustCyber’s fifth annual Australian Cyber Week, spanning a week-long series of events and activities.
The week combines virtual and in-person sessions to generate awareness about the Australian cyber security industry and showcase local innovation. It comes at a critical time when Australia has experienced an unprecedented amount of cyber activity over the past 12 months.
AustCyber’s CEO Michelle Price said, “Australian Cyber Week is a fantastic opportunity for the cyber security community to discuss the most pressing issues for the sector. AustCyber will utilise its virtual conference platform as the cornerstone infrastructure to deliver Australian Cyber Week. Our 3D 'circuit board city' is the gateway to daily live events, a networking and community hub, knowledge library, exhibition hall with booths that feature Australian cyber security products and services and exclusive deals from companies featured on AUCyberscape.”
Online events will be complemented by in-person events in South Australia and Western Australia, facilitated through AustCyber’s National Network of Cyber Security Innovation Nodes.
“There will be a feature event each day — designed to demonstrate the globally competitive nature of our cyber security ecosystem,” said Price.
On 25 October, to underline the importance of digital trust in keeping our digital activity secure and resilient, guest speakers will walk through a significant hypothetical cyber-attack on an Australian hospital to draw attention to the complexities and considerations about the risks, and highlight the impact on government and crucial parts of our society. The Hon. Karen Andrews MP (Minister for Home Affairs), Kate Pounder (CEO, Tech Council of Australia), Innex Willox (Chief Executive, Australian Industry Group), Sarah Bailey (CFO, Penten), Dr Lesley Seebeck (CEO, Cyber21) and Robert McAdam (CEO, Sekuro) will provide their expert opinions.
With the workforce expected to grow by at least 7,000 over the next three years, experts from the ANU, University of Canberra, UNSW, Canberra Institute of Technology and industry will come together on 26 October to discuss career pathways and upskilling and micro-credentialing a remote workforce.
Ten of Australia's most innovative companies will present pitches to the audience and a panel of judges during ‘Dragon’s den’ on 27 October. The audience will be able to invest fake dollars and vote for their favourite product or solution while the judges define the best proposal. The judging panel comprises Liam Connolly (CISO, Seek), Scott Handsaker (CEO, CyRise), Michelle Mosey (COO, AustCyber), James Turner (Managing Director, CISO Lens), Noel Allnutt (Chief Sales and Strategy Officer, Sekuro) and Tamara Baker (Cyber Week student ambassador).
On 28 October, the key event will be a debate on the current state of procurement and policy related to the emerging technology sectors within Australia. Host Michelle Price will ask the big questions of guests, with two teams - affirmative and negative - battling it out to highlight the opportunities, challenges and required actions to uplift procurement across the nation. Mohan Koo (Co-Founder and CTO, Dtex Systems), Matthew Wilson (CEO, Penten), Susie Jones (CEO, Cynch Security), Jacqui Kernot (Partner - Cyber Security, Ernst & Young), Michelle Price (CEO, AustCyber), Tim Watts MP (Labor Member for Gellibrand; and Shadow Asst Minister for Communications & Cyber Security) will take part in the conversation.
On ‘community day’ on 29 October, Australian company OSINT Combine will facilitate an instructor-led full day of open-source intelligence (OSINT) training for participants to learn open source fundamentals, searching essentials and cross-platform social media network analysis. This will be useful training for the National Missing Persons Hackathon, which has been postponed until early 2022.
Diversity will also be an important theme throughout the week and attendees can participate in a speed networking session to get first-hand information on how to champion diversity within their workplace, learn about the programs and policies that support diversity and share experiences.
With over 20 in-person and online events, Australia Cyber Week will offer a deep dive into the industry today and a vision of the future. For more information about Australian Cyber Week 2021, visit www.cyberweek2021.austcyber.com.
