Australian Security Summit (AuSEC)

Full event details

Agenda

Canberra, 29 August 2024

All times in AEST

8:00 am

Registration And Networking Breakfast   

9:00 am

Welcome From Public Sector Network 

9:10 am

Welcome From Event Chair 

9:20 am

Ministerial Address 

9:30 am

International Keynote

Tricia Geddes, Associate Deputy Minister, Public Safety Canada  

9:50 am

Fireside Chat:  Australian Priorities for National Security Uplift and Resilience – and The Emerging Impacts of International Threat Terrain on Domestic Security Strategy 

  • Safeguarding and advancing Australia’s international and strategic interests in a rapidly changing environment  
  • Strengthening and elevating new and existing strategic and economic partnerships  
  • Advancing Australia’s national interests in multilateral organisations and standard-setting bodies  
  • Working in partnership across the APS, industry and internationally – lifting our capacity to rapidly translate disruptive new technologies into ADF capability, and deepening diplomatic and defence partnerships with key partners in the Indo-Pacific  
  • Assessing the opportunities, weaknesses and critical next steps to deliver the next phase of national security – sense-checking the infrastructure, technology, requirements and strategies to accelerate strategic advancement 

10:10 am

Partner Session

10:30 am

Panel Discussion:  Advancing Intelligence - Driving Capabilities for Strategic and Proactive National Security

  • Espionage and foreign interference – enhancing protection of sensitive information and early detection of ’insider threats’  
  • Advancing the ability to collect, analyse, integrate, assess and disseminate intelligence with the accuracy, scale and speed required to support timely national security and intelligence decision making  
  • Integrated information sharing – sharing data and information across agencies and jurisdictions to achieve smooth, whole-of-nation operational response  
  • Leveraging data and intelligence to proactively identify threats vulnerabilities to national security – Embedding sophisticated, strategic insight into existing operations   
  • Inter-Agency intelligence: Breaking down siloes for more sophisticated and detailed intel sharing  

 

Hans Koenderink, Assistant Commissioner, Intelligence and Covert Services, Australian Federal Police
Leanne Fry, National Manager (CIO), Innovation and Technology Solutions, AUSTRAC
Rohan Samaraweera, Senior Director, Data Science Branch, Department of Home Affairs (pending final confirmation)
Catherine Burn, Deputy-Director General, Capability, Corporate Management and Transformation, Australian Secret Intelligence Service
Tom Rogers, Commissioner, Australian Electoral Commission

11:00 am

Morning Tea and Networking Break  

11:30 am

ONLINE THREATS  STREAM

Welcome from Chair 

OFFLINE THREATS  STREAM

Welcome from Chair 

11:40 am

ONLINE THREATS  STREAM

Government Keynote:  Remaining Ahead of the New Era of Progressive and Sophisticated Cyber Threats – Navigating the Emerging Challenges of 2024-2025’s International and Domestic Threat Terrain to Eliminate Compromise

Brendan Dowling, Ambassador for Cyber Affairs and Critical Infrastructure, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

  • Mitigating cybercrimes against the Government, critical infrastructure, systems of national significance and those impacting the whole of Australian economy – unpacking 2024-2025 requirements to ensure robust protection   
  • Cyber warfare, cybercrime, cyber espionage and cyberterrorism – How can we enhance detection capabilities and rapid response?  
  • Cyber soldiers and the future of digital warfare – exploring emerging trends to inform security strategy  
  • Navigating cyber security within the context of critical infrastructure  
  • Enhancing and protecting the online integrity and security of Australia’s supply chain against international volatility and vulnerability
OFFLINE THREATS  STREAM

Government Keynote: Preserving Australia’s Border Integrity - Identifying and Assessing Risks for Proactive Interventions 

  • AI and biometrics – managing public trust, confidence and privacy concerns in surveillance capabilities in the context of facial recognition technologies  
  • Investigating identity fraud and protecting Australians from identity-enabled cybercrime by boosting Identity management capabilities  
  • Improved detection and prevention – developing rapid, reliable early detection and screening methods at the border and anticipate, identify and respond to an activity in real-time  
  • Navigating emerging technology – exploring the opportunities to advance remote sensor technology, human detection performance, surveillance for detection of biosecurity threats, and surveillance for detection, alert and tracking of vessels  
  • Advancing data capabilities – powering data fusion, single digital platform access, secure real time access, and data protection, standards and privacy  

Ashley Bell, Assistant Secretary, Customs and Border Modernisation Branch, Australian Border Force
Anna Brezzo, First Assistant Secretary, Investigations and Enforcement, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

12:10 pm

ONLINE THREATS  STREAM

Panel Discussion: Refreshing and Uplifting Cyber Security Within National Security – How Can We Advance Capabilities to Proactively Detect Suspicious Activity and Enhance Rapid Response? 

  • Forecasting future technologies and sharing best practice to drive security uplift  
  • Pinpointing weaknesses and opportunities for cyber uplift: What’s needed to progress into 2025 with confidence?   
  • Establishing effective response plans to detect and act if a breach occurs  
  • People as a fundamental pillar to national security – educating the workforce and public to uphold strong security practices  
  • Raising public awareness to growing online threats   

Nadia Taggart, CISO, Western Sydney University
Philip Wagner, Director of Cyber Security, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
Professor Helge Janicke, Deputy CEO, Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre
Jorge Conde, PhD Fellow in Cognitive Warfare Science, ANU 

OFFLINE THREATS  STREAM

Panel Discussion: Physical Safety:  Exploring Emerging Threats and Trends Leading Into 2025 – and the Influence of the International Terrain on Domestic Preparedness and Response Capabilities  

  • Preparedness, Protection, Prevention and Incident Response – how can we improve capabilities in natural or man-made destructive events, including mass-harm and mass-damage incidents, either by preventing their occurrence, or responding and recovering effectively if they have occurred?  
  • 2024-2025’s emerging requirements for policing/safe places – strengthening strategic response and proactive prevention   
  • Natural Disasters, Emergency Response, Crisis Management – how can we respond more effectively in real time?  
  • Terrorism and State Actors – boosting investigative support and forensic science capabilities  
  • Navigating the complex transnational and evolving digital environment – implications in the ability to prevent, disrupt and prosecute terrorist and criminal activities  

Senior Representative, AFP 
Nima Torabi, Executive Director, Security and Resilience, CSIRO

12:40 pm

ONLINE THREATS  STREAM

Partner Perspective 

OFFLINE THREATS  STREAM

Partner Perspective 

1:00 pm

ONLINE THREATS  STREAM

Fireside Chat:  National Intelligence Security: Rapid Detection of Threats and Online Compromise of Australia’s Security Intel 

  • Safeguarding data and sensitive information – uplifting the nation’s cyber resilience as a top priority  
  • Powering national cyber resilience – how can we drive collaboration for stronger intelligence protection?  
  • Monitoring systems for unexpected behaviors to protect sensitive information from falling into the hands of bad actors   
  • Educating the workforce on strong security practice  
  • Enhancing the ability for early detection of ’insider threats’  

Peter Anstee, First Assistant Secretary, Cyber Security Policy Division, Department of Home Affairs
Jonathan Dean, CISO, Department of Defence 

OFFLINE THREATS  STREAM

Keynote: Increasing Critical Infrastructure Protection and Resilience on a National Scale 

Keynote: Increasing Critical Infrastructure Protection and Resilience on a National Scale 

  • Exploring the next phase of strengthening protections for critical infrastructure and lessening vulnerability   
  • Addressing acute cross-sector challenges and planning for the anticipated increase in both scale and complexity of natural disasters and disruptions to global supply chains  
  • Unpacking the current and emerging threat terrain – safeguarding from the increasingly complex national security risks of sabotage, espionage or coercion  
  • Developing risk management strategies to build resilience and creating integrated cyber-physical and supply chain aware infrastructure  
  • Managing interdependency between critical infrastructure and critical and non-critical components 
     

Speaker TBC, Department of Home Affairs  

1:20 pm

Networking Lunch  

2:20 pm

Interactive Roundtable Discussions 

3:20 pm

Welcome back from Event Chair 

3:25 pm

International Keynote (Virtual)

3:40 pm

Partner Perspective

4:00 pm

Panel Discussion: Achieving Alignment in National Security Efforts – Unlocking the Power of Collaboration, People and Foresight  

  • Assessing collaboration capabilities – what’s required to further this strength across federal and state agencies?  
  • Revising and improve best practice – a whole government, system and nation approach – streamlining policy for greater understanding and compliance   
  • Mastering collaboration: improving collective knowledge of emerging threats and risks; connecting to coordinate planning and prioritisation and leveraging each other’s capabilities  
  • Collaborating for a comprehensive approach to due diligence: risk awareness, asking questions, transparency and accountability, and staying alert  
  • People development: How can we continue to improve the growth and retention of a highly skilled Defence workforce?  

 

Justin Bassi, Executive Director, Australian Strategic Policy Institute
John Blaxland, Professor of International Security & Intelligence Studies, Australian National University 
Michael Shoebridge, Former Director of the Defence, Strategy and National Security Program, ASPI and Founder, Strategic Analysis Australia

4:30 pm

Closing Remarks Event Chair

4:35 pm

Networking Reception