Protecting Government Services from Modern Identity Threats: Why Identity Is Now Critical to AI, Compliance and Service Continuity

Across Australian governments, ransomware and persistent cyber threats increasingly target the identity foundations that underpin service delivery. Once an attacker gains a foothold, identity compromise becomes the fastest path to privilege escalation, lateral movement and widespread disruption.

This session is designed for leaders accountable for service continuity, cyber risk and digital transformation. It focuses on how to strengthen identity assurance across hybrid environments, improve visibility and detection, and reduce the likelihood that a single compromise escalates into a whole-of-service event. This includes identity risks originating in legacy Active Directory environments that continue to underpin access, trust and privilege across modern cloud and AI-enabled services.

Drawing on real-world public sector experience and current ASD guidance, speakers will explore what “modern identity defence” looks like in practice, including how to strengthen monitoring, reduce privilege pathways, and prepare for high-pressure recovery decisions when identity systems are impacted.

Key discussion points

• Why identity compromise is the quickest path to systemic impact: How attackers use identity pathways to move fast after initial access.
• Why “secure by default” is still not enough: Where visibility breaks down in legacy identity foundations and hybrid environments.
• Hybrid identity risk and on-premises weaknesses that become cloud compromises: How trust relationships and identity dependencies can bypass expected controls.
• From reactive recovery to continuous assurance: Baselining, monitoring, and practical steps leaders can sponsor without creating complexity.
• Preparedness under pressure: the decisions that determine outcomes: What leaders need to have pre-agreed for containment, recovery and eradication.