Andrew Philp underscored the need for continuous, risk-based security—powered by automation, visibility, and AI—to protect citizen data and critical services.
“We’re a long way from just looking at CVEs—configuration, identity, cloud posture, and even MFA settings can be far more important than a single vulnerability.”
He outlined how Trend Micro’s Vision One, fully hosted in Australia and IRAP-assessed to Protected, consolidates data from Microsoft Defender, cloud environments, scanning tools, and more to generate a unified, real-time risk score across assets, identities, and devices.
“Once we collect the data, the real magic is making it functional—giving you a score for every asset, every identity, every device.”
This shift enables teams to move from reactive firefighting to proactive planning. Some agencies have utilized real-time scoring to boost team engagement, mitigate burnout, and gain immediate clarity on where to focus their efforts.
AI will take this further by translating cyber exposure into business impact.
“If we can express likelihood and impact in dollars, we can finally have a business conversation about cyber risk.”
Andrew closed with a case where a major healthcare department—struggling with legacy devices and Essential Eight compliance—used this approach to reduce compliance workload by 30% and proactively manage audits.
Core Insights
1. Rising Threat Pressure- Government agencies are facing an increased volume and sophistication of attacks—demanding proactive, continuous monitoring over point-in-time checks.
2. Smarter Risk Measurement- Agencies with structured, ongoing risk assessments show markedly higher resilience. Real-time scoring helps prioritise issues based on actual impact, not just vulnerability lists.
3. AI-Enhanced Defence- Aligned with ACSC guidance, AI helps detect threats faster, automate responses, and convert technical exposure into actionable business intelligence.
Key Takeaways
IRAP Protected, Australian-hosted Vision One, with sovereign air-gapped options
Integrated visibility across Microsoft Defender, cloud platforms, scanners and APIs
Real-time scoring across identities, devices and cloud assets
AI translating exposure into dollar-value impact models
The government healthcare agency achieved 30% compliance time savings
Recommendations
2025 Research Digest: A catalogue of public sector transformation insights
GIW Federal 2025: Policy Development of Horizon 2 of the Government Cyber Security Strategy with Ash Bell
Midnight In The War Room
The Public Sector Podcast: Strength in diversity: Unlocking cyber security’s full potential
