Beyond Stability: Cultivating Dynamic Resilience to Build NSW's Antifragile Future

1. Integrated and Functional Cyber Risk Management is Key
Effective cyber risk management must integrate across the entire organisation, aligning with enterprise risk frameworks. The approach should be functional, enabling leaders to translate technical issues into actionable business strategies while promoting collaboration between departments and third-party stakeholders.

2. Legacy Systems and Obsolete Data Demand Strategic Focus
Managing legacy systems and obsolete data sustainably is critical. NSW is adopting a standardised approach for legacy risk, prioritising centralised investments where necessary and empowering mature departments to push cybersecurity uplift to smaller agencies. Collaboration across government ensures risks are addressed holistically.

3. Collaboration and Tailored Solutions Drive Progress
Initiatives like the cybersecurity governance, risk, and expenditure review reflect NSW's commitment to robust and enduring solutions. Departments are leveraging whole-of-government resources, such as shared purchasing arrangements, and aligning investments with evolving threats to build a resilient, collaborative cyber ecosystem.

Kicking Goals in Innovation and Winning with Resilience

Chris Barbour, Senior Solutions Engineer, Splunk

1. Resilience is Multi-Dimensional and Foundational
Resilience spans business, operational, digital, and cyber domains, requiring organisations to adapt, withstand, and recover from disruptions. Digital resilience, in particular, is critical for maintaining reliable operations, addressing natural disasters, system failures, and supply chain issues while ensuring system performance and availability.

2. Observability and Security Must Converge for Holistic Resilience
Observability provides end-to-end visibility into system performance, enabling faster issue identification and resolution. Coupling this with a unified security operations approach helps organisations detect, investigate, and respond to threats efficiently, fostering collaboration between IT and security teams to manage incidents and reduce downtime.

3. Data-Driven Strategies Enhance Resilience and Innovation
Building resilience hinges on leveraging real-time, high-fidelity data to drive insights across observability and security operations. This supports better incident response, proactive threat hunting, and streamlined compliance. Sharing insights across teams, embedding security into DevOps practices, and aligning incident management workflows ensure a robust, collaborative approach to digital innovation.

Ensuring the Online Safety of our Communities

Matthew Craft, Commander, Cybercrime Squad, NSW Police
Toby Dagg, General Manager – Regulatory Operations Group, eSafety Commissioner
Jessica Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, Good Things Foundation

1. Education and Resilience are Critical for Online Safety
Education is essential in building community resilience to online threats. Tailored initiatives like the Be Connected program empower vulnerable groups, including older Australians, to navigate the digital landscape safely. Awareness campaigns, such as those addressing sextortion scams, help individuals recognise and respond to threats, fostering safer online behaviours.

2. Collaboration Across Sectors Enhances Impact
Partnerships between government, law enforcement, and community organisations are crucial to scaling online safety efforts. Examples include Good Things Australia’s network of community organisations supporting digital inclusion and NSW Police’s Joint Policing Cybercrime Coordination Center, which fosters real-time collaboration with banks and telcos to prevent and respond to cyber threats.

3. The Online Threat Landscape is Growing in Complexity
Emerging technologies, such as generative AI, exacerbate risks by enabling harmful content, scams, and cyberattacks at scale. While safety-by-design principles are essential, current business models often prioritise engagement over security, necessitating proactive regulation and safety measures to counter these evolving challenges.

Building a Future Ready Digital Experience Strategy

Megan Engard, Senior Director, Marketing Technology and Enablement, Sitecore

1. Clear Objectives and Balance Drive Success
Establishing well-defined objectives early is crucial for successful digital transformation. Megan highlighted the importance of balancing efficiency (e.g., streamlined content editing) with effectiveness (e.g., improved user engagement). This dual focus ensures organisations can meet rising citizen expectations while optimising internal processes.

2. Data-Centric Strategies Enhance Experiences
Centring data in strategy development enables personalised, seamless user journeys. Megan emphasised mapping data flows, integrating systems like Customer Data Platforms (CDPs), and using insights for journey mapping as foundational steps. These approaches improve engagement and support decision-making, paving the way for scalable digital experiences.

3. Content Organisation is Key for AI Readiness
Conducting thorough content audits ensures clean, structured data, vital for SEO optimisation and AI integration. By reducing outdated or redundant content (e.g., cutting 74% of pages), Sitecore improved organic traffic and search rankings. Structured, up-to-date content also prepares organisations for AI tools like OpenAI and Google Bard, ensuring accurate representation.

Rapid Response in Times of Need

Kylie De Courteney, Managing Director, NSW Telco Authority
Kyle Stewart, Deputy Commissioner, NSW Rural Fire Service
David Cernjul, Director, SDPR, eHealth NSW
Arnie Bhattacharya, Chief Product Officer, Nuix

1. Investing in Scalable Resilience Capabilities
Lessons from the 2019–2020 bushfire season emphasised the need to scale resources, upgrade technology, and refine processes. Examples include increasing mobile assets, creating remote-start generators, and enhancing emergency data systems to prioritise critical assets effectively.

2. Data and Technology Drive Decision-Making
Leveraging tools like spatial overlays, fire risk models, and partnerships with organisations like CSIRO has significantly improved response accuracy. Agencies such as the Rural Fire Service (RFS) use predictive analytics and scenario simulations to optimise resource deployment, mitigating risks even in vast and challenging terrains.

3. People and Process Integration are Key to Success
Collaboration across sectors and with local communities builds stronger emergency responses. The integration of real-time data and structured processes, like those seen in NSW Health’s clinical decision-making frameworks, underpins operational continuity and effective communication in crises.

4. Clean Data is Crucial for AI and Rapid Analysis
Organisations face challenges in cleansing and standardising legacy data to train AI models effectively. Investments in data quality ensure that tools like machine learning enhance situational awareness and response efficacy without introducing harmful biases or inaccuracies.

5. Proactive Investments in Risk Mitigation Save Costs
Governments are encouraged to allocate funds for resilience before crises hit, as these investments reduce overall response and recovery costs. Clear articulation of economic and social returns on resilience funding strengthens the case for proactive decision-making.