Government Cyber Security Showcase Federal 2026

Settle in, grab a coffee and meet a few friendly faces before we begin.

A short welcome, plus a few quick tips to help you connect, share and get real value from the day. We’ll also run a couple of quick polls to see what everyone’s interested in and what people are working on right now.

A short briefing from the Chair to get everyone aligned, comfortable, and ready for a great day of ideas and connection.

As digital dependency deepens across government and critical infrastructure, resilience is becoming the defining capability of modern public sector leadership. This keynote explores how the Commonwealth is preparing for a future where disruption is constant, and trust must be continuously maintained.

• Why resilience is overtaking prevention as government’s core cyber priority
• The future of operational continuity in interconnected government environments
• Building trusted and adaptive public services for 2030 and beyond

The Commonwealth is operating in a fundamentally different cyber environment shaped by escalating geopolitical instability, increasingly sophisticated state-sponsored actors and public expectations that essential government services remain operational during disruption. This keynote examines how the Australian Government is evolving its cyber posture from reactive defence toward national resilience.

• Nation-state targeting of government and critical infrastructure is increasing in sophistication and persistence
• Cyber resilience is now inseparable from national resilience
• The annual cyber threat landscape for government

As artificial intelligence transforms enterprise operations, traditional static authorisation models and legacy API gateways fall short against autonomous, dynamic agents.
This keynote demystifies AI identity security gateways, exploring critical architectural placement, latency management, and runtime intent inspection. We examine why modern enterprise security must expand beyond basic data loss prevention to embrace a robust identity and authorisation framework.

• Analysing optimal gateway placement closer to the agent provider so teams minimise latency risks during scaling
• Exploring the shift beyond post-LLM safety measures toward real-time tracking of agent intent and inline authorisation
• Highlighting how to differentiate true AI security by integrating comprehensive identity and authorisation frameworks alongside traditional data protection

Behind every cyber incident, scam and identity theft case are real Australians experiencing financial loss, emotional distress and a loss of trust. Bringing together perspectives from law enforcement and national security agencies, this session explores the trends, tactics and threats they are seeing firsthand, and what government leaders can learn from frontline investigations to better protect citizens and strengthen organisational resilience.

• Insights from the frontline on emerging cybercrime, scam and identity theft trends affecting Australians and government services
• How law enforcement and government agencies are working together to disrupt cybercriminal activity and reduce citizen harm
• Lessons from real investigations that can help agencies improve cyber awareness, reporting, resilience and trust

Australian Government agencies face an increasingly sophisticated AI-powered threat landscape evolving faster than traditional human response capacity. As ASD transitions from the Essential Eight to the broader Essentials series and DTA policy mandates accountability for agency AI use cases, this session explores how Advanced Threat Intelligence, Machine Learning and Generative AI can enable secure, accountable and trusted outcomes.

Key discussion points:

• Integrating Advanced Threat Intelligence, Machine Learning and Generative AI securely
• Navigating ASD’s transition to the broader Essentials series and DTA AI accountability requirements
• Turning intelligence into trusted, accountable and high-impact action

It's time to grab a coffee - connect, recharge and explore our exhibition floor before the track discussions begin!

Setting the tone for priorities of the mid-day plenary.

Westpac operates in one of Australia’s most highly targeted and regulated environments, making cyber security a core business function rather than a support capability. This session explores how Westpac is embedding security across operations, using real time intelligence, strong governance and continuous uplift to stay ahead of evolving threats.

• Embedding cyber security across the organisation to support resilience and long term risk management
• Strengthening detection, response and visibility in an increasingly complex threat landscape
• Balancing security, regulation and customer experience while enabling business outcomes

How Government Agencies Can Better Detect and Respond to Emerging AI Risks

AI is transforming how Australian Government agencies deliver services, support decision-making and improve productivity, but it also introduces new governance, security and data protection risks.

From unsanctioned AI tools to risky prompts and sensitive data sharing, traditional controls may not provide the visibility needed to detect emerging threats or understand their impact on citizen data and agency operations.

This session explores how agencies can strengthen detection and response capabilities for AI-related data risk, improve oversight of sensitive information, and support responsible AI adoption.

The pressure on federal agencies to modernise services, deploy AI and improve citizen experience is accelerating. At the same time, public trust is increasingly fragile and cyber incidents are becoming more visible, disruptive and politically sensitive. This session explores how government can balance urgency with resilience and accountability.

• How government can accelerate transformation without increasing systemic risk
• Where trust is most vulnerable in AI-enabled digital government
• Defining responsible innovation across the Commonwealth
• What resilient and trusted government looks like by 2030

As AI, geopolitical tensions and supply chain dependencies reshape the threat landscape, cyber leaders are reassessing their biggest risks and priorities.

• Emerging threats that are changing executive risk conversations
• Balancing innovation with security expectations
• The future role of cyber leadership in government

Critical infrastructure has become a primary target for cyber criminals and state-sponsored actors. This session examines how government and operators are responding to growing threats across energy, health, telecommunications, transport and essential services.

• The evolving threat landscape targeting critical infrastructure
• Regulatory obligations under SOCI reforms and operational resilience expectations
• Strengthening collaboration between government and operators

Grab lunch, have a wander, and chat with industry partners and peers about practical ideas you can take back to work. Arguably the most important part of the day!

Artificial intelligence is accelerating both cyber-attacks and defensive capability across government. This session examines how the Commonwealth is preparing for AI-enabled phishing, misinformation, automation-driven attacks and emerging governance challenges.

• AI as a force multiplier for cyber-crime and state-sponsored activity
• Balancing AI adoption with security, transparency and accountability
• Governing emerging technologies without slowing innovation

Federal agencies rely on an increasingly complex network of suppliers, cloud providers and technology partners. This session explores how agencies are strengthening visibility, assurance and resilience across third-party ecosystems.

• Understanding concentration risk in cloud and digital supply chains
• Moving beyond compliance-based vendor assurance
• Preparing for large-scale supplier compromise scenarios

Cyber threats increasingly operate across borders, targeting shared systems, supply chains, critical infrastructure, and democratic institutions. This keynote explores how governments can deepen international cooperation, align cyber policy, and build trusted partnerships that strengthen collective resilience in an increasingly contested digital environment.

• Strengthening trusted international alliances to improve cyber intelligence sharing, preparedness, and coordinated response
• Aligning cyber policy and diplomatic engagement to address state-sponsored threats and shared strategic risks
• Building practical partnerships between governments, industry, and international institutions to protect critical systems and maintain public trust

The integration of AI into public services, cyber defence and decision-making is fundamentally reshaping how government functions, governs and responds to disruption. This session explores how federal leaders can prepare institutions, operating models and public trust for a radically different digital future.

• How AI is transforming government operating models
• The risks of scaling AI faster than governance frameworks evolve
• Managing resilience and accountability in AI-enabled systems
• Preparing public institutions for continuous technological disruption

We’ll pull out a few highlights from the day, share what’s coming next, and point you to ways to stay connected.

Wrap up the day with good conversation and a few new connections. Thanks for making GIW your one-stop shop for benchmarking, industry updates and great conversations.