Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies

On this first of five special episodes brought to you from the Women in National Security Conference, we look at ethical hacking, technological disruption, and the danger of group-think in cybersecurity.

Hosted by the ANU National Security College, the Women in National Security Conference is a forum on the participation of women in Australia’s future national security policy and practice.

From data to deterrence, new technologies to counter-terrorism, Indo-Pacific strategy to the future of power, this sold-out conference will feature a range of expert speakers to challenge yesterday’s assumptions – and the National Security Podcast will be there to bring you the highlights.

In this first episode, host Chris Farnham hears from Amy Roberts and Catherine Bridges about how Australia can secure its next generation of cyber experts.

Listen to the podcast here.

Amy Roberts is an Assistant Director with the Australian Signals Directorate. She manages the Government’s Cyber Security Challenge Australia, the largest national tertiary ‘hacking’ competition, in partnership with the corporate sector and academia, to identify the next generation of cyber talent.

Catherine Bridges is Cyber Advisor at the ANU National Security College, on secondment from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Her career has included roles in policy development, implementation and advice, legal analysis and advice and stakeholder engagement across several government agencies including the Attorney-General’s Department, Defence and Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Chris Farnham is the presenter of the National Security Podcast. He joined the National Security College in June 2015 as Policy and Events Officer. His career focus has been on geopolitics with experience working in and out of China for a number of years as well as operating in Australia and Southeast Asia.

Shownotes | The following were referred to in this podcast:

Cyber Security Challenges Australia – the country’s largest tertiary ‘hacking’ competition, run by an alliance of Australian Government, business and academic professionals. Corporate partners include Telstra, PwC, Splunk, Microsoft, and BAE Systems.

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This post and podcast were first published on policyforum.net, Crawford School’s platform for public policy debate, analysis, views, and discussion.