MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, 9 JULY 2024: Tesserent, a Thales Australia company and leading cyber security provider, has been announced the Plenary Chair of the Victorian Cyber Security Showcase being held at Pullman Melbourne in Albert Park on Tuesday, 23 July, hosted by the Public Sector Network.

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

• Dovid Clarke, Victorian Government, Chief Information Security Officer and Executive Director, Data and Digital Resilience, Department of Government Services
• Shane Moffitt, Victorian Government, Deputy Chief Information Security Officer
• Luke Halliday, Victorian Government, Executive Director, Technology and Digital Platforms, Department of Government Services
• Victoria Police Representative, Cyber Incident Response Service, Department of Government Services
• Timothy McKinney, Victoria Police, Detective Superintendent, Crime Command
• Erika Owens, Victorian Government, Director Victim Support, Victims of Crime, Department of Justice and Community Safety
• Anafrid Bennett, Greater Western Water, Chief Information Security Officer
• Michael Wenn, Greater Western Water, Lead Enterprise Security and DevSecOps
• Antoine Acklin, Whitehorse City Council, Manager Organisational Technology.
• Sophia Kakavoules, Victorian Government, Cyber Culture and Engagement Lead, Department of Government Services
• Courtney Crawford, Victorian Government, Head of Cyber Safe Communities, Department of Government Services

Tesserent CEO, Kurt Hansen 

“The Victorian Government, local Victorian councils and Victorian government agencies are confronting an increasingly complex cyber security challenge. 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 Victorian citizens’ and businesses’ sensitive data and the compromise of our local critical infrastructure,” explains Kurt.
“Tesserent is delighted to play a key role in the Victorian Cyber Security Showcase which will bring together senior Victorian state and local 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,” he says.

Tesserent and Thales Australia work on many of the nation’s most important defence programs, with critical infrastructure operators, federal, state and local government departments and the corporate sector.

More than 220 members of Tesserent’s team hold Australian Government security clearance. “Tesserent is at the forefront of protecting Victoria’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.

Kurt will host two fireside chats at the event. The first with Luke Halliday, the Executive Director of Technology and Digital Platforms at the Department of Government Services, will discuss next-generation technologies, the latest methods to detect and mitigate cyber threats, how to secure data with technology and methods to enhance identity management and access control. The second with Shane Moffitt, the Victorian Government’s Deputy Chief Information Security Officer, will delve into how to develop and deliver a successful cyber strategy, conduct comprehensive risk assessments and prioritise vulnerable areas.

Keynote addresses at the Victorian Cyber Security Showcase will cover the themes of understanding the current cyber security landscape, the biggest threats facing Victorian government agencies, how the global threat landscape impacts Victoria and what’s next for future strategy and actions. Sessions will showcase digital government initiatives such as how to promote innovation in Victoria in a secure environment and the guardrails required for fast-tracking cloud migrations, why ransomware remains such a prominent threat in Victoria and protecting local critical infrastructure such as water and utility systems.

Panel discussions at the event will include topics spanning information sharing to enhance Victorian cyber threat intelligence and the future of cyber security risks in Victoria, the human element in cyber security encompassing training for all government workers, how to create a cyber aware culture and taking care of our human defenders. And the barriers and solutions for uniting Victorian government departments to effectively disrupt cyber threats and the future of citizen identity and building trust through enhanced security.

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 across government and other sectors and 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 Victorian 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/2024/03/Victorian-Cyber-Security-Showcase-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.