CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA, 14 MAY 2024: Tesserent, a Thales Australia company and leading cyber security provider, has been announced the Plenary Chair and Bronze Sponsor of the 2nd Annual Australian Cyber Security Showcase being held at the National Convention Centre in Canberra on Wednesday, 29 May, hosted by the Public Sector Network and Canberra Cyber Hub.

Tesserent CEO, Kurt Hansen will be the Plenary Chairman in a robust line up of high-profile speakers including:

• Lieutenant General Michelle McGuinness, Australia’s National Cyber Security Coordinator, National Office of Cyber Security
• Philip Wagner, Director of Cyber Security, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
• Scott Lee, Assistant Commissioner – Cyber Command, Australian Federal Police
• Janice Law, Chief Information Security Officer, Services Australia
• Joe Smith, Assistant Secretary, Cyber Security Response Coordination Unit, Department of Home Affairs
• Sophie Pearce, Assistant Secretary, Department of Home Affairs

“Australia’s federal agencies are confronting an increasingly complex cyber security landscape. The threat landscape continues to evolve as adversaries have access to new tools and techniques. Buoyed by the rising tide of AI, attackers ranging from nation-state actors to cybercriminals are relentless in their pursuit of sensitive data and the compromise of critical infrastructure.
“Tesserent is excited to be playing a key role in the Australian Cyber Security Showcase, which will bring together senior government and public sector cyber security experts with the private sector cyber security industry leaders to dissect issues, share best practice learnings and foster heightened collaboration,” says Kurt.

Kurt will host a special fireside chat at the event with Lieutenant General Michelle McGuinness, Australia’s National Cyber Security Coordinator on the topic of public-private partnerships in cybersecurity at 3.30pm on 29 May. This session is open for media attendance via pre-registration.

“Lieutenant General Michelle McGuinness and I will be discussing how these partnerships can enhance the collective understanding of cyber threats and lead to more effective preventative measures and how joint cyber security development projects and awareness campaigns can aid in addressing specific challenges. We will also examine skill and resource sharing and how public/private partnerships can help relieve the burden on staff and resource shortages,”
“Tesserent and Thales Australia work on many of Australia’s most important defence programs, with critical infrastructure operators, government departments and the corporate sector. We have more than 190 team members that hold Australian Government security clearance. Tesserent is at the forefront of protecting Australia’s digital assets and has a strong expert team providing consulting and managed cyber services including market leading 24/7 threat monitoring and intelligence,” explains Kurt.

Panel discussions during the Australian Cyber Security Showcase will cover the themes of data classification and protection: safeguarding sensitive government information; cyber security resilience and continuity planning: preparing for prolonged disruptions and recovery; understanding business concerns for stronger Australian cyber security and challenges in protecting vital services: energy, transportation, and healthcare.

Tony Sheehan, strategic advisor and former Non-Executive Director of Tesserent, former ASIO Deputy Director General and former Deputy Secretary DFAT will facilitate a roundtable at the event on the Essential 8 program roll-out, insights into incident response co-ordination and legislation and a how communication between government and industry can be enhanced.

Tony brings a wealth of experience following a 32-year career with senior roles in counter-terrorism, security intelligence and international security. Anthony is the former Commonwealth Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, former Chair of the Australia-New Zealand Counter Terrorism Committee, former ASIO Deputy Director-General and former Deputy Secretary in the Attorney-General’s Department. He also served as First Assistant Secretary Homeland and Border Security in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Delegates at the Australian Cyber Security Showcase will include professionals spanning the public and private sector across governance, policy, compliance and audits, information management, digital security, risk management, incident response and resilience.

To view the full agenda, please visit: https://publicsectornetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/ANZ-Cyber-Federal-2024-Agenda.pdf

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About Tesserent

Tesserent, a Thales Australia company is the leading cyber security provider of choice for the protection of Australia and New Zealand’s digital and information assets. Tesserent has the capability to support organisations to defend their digital assets against increasing risks and cyber-attacks.

We are a full-service cybersecurity and cloud provider, partnering with clients across all industries and levels of government. Tesserent strengthened by the combined force, depth and scale of Thales, has a deep imprint on all tiers of government and commercial business in Australia and New Zealand.

Our strong, agile and multi-capability team under the combined Tesserent and Thales brands, has more than 500 of the nation’s highly regarded cyber security experts.

Learn more at www.tesserent.com.

Media Enquiries

Media representatives wanting to register for the fireside chat with Lieutenant General Michelle McGuinness, Australia’s National Cyber Security Coordinator at 3.30pm on 29 May, please email kathryn@media-wize.com 0414 726 958 in advance of the day.

To arrange interviews with Kurt Hansen pre-event, during or to gain a briefing after the event on key outcomes, please contact Media-Wize’s Kathryn Goater on 0414 726 958 or email kathryn@media-wize.com