CyberCX

Whose side is AI on in the digital scam wars? Are cyber security breaches inevitable? And what does it take to succeed in a complex, deteriorating threat landscape? These are the questions we explored at SXSW Sydney this week ↙️ From knowing your enemy to how much the internet knows about you, CyberCX and industry experts brought the most pressing topics in tech and cyber to the forefront of conversation. Take a look at highlights from our program, part of the #SXSWsydney Cyber & Your Data track, proudly presented by CyberCX.    Our thanks to the incredible speakers who shared their insights and experiences 🎤 May Lam 林希文, Phillip Finnegan, Simon Peter Johnston, Joachim Pforr, Shameela Gonzalez, Damian Kassabgi, Emma Sneesby, William Payne, John Paitaridis, Elise Thomas, Julie Igglesden, Luke Roache, Mark Hofman, Julie Inman - Grant, Emily Pendlebury, Julia Wulf-Rhodes, Hugh Riminton, Chris Mohan, Zoe Thompson, Hamish Krebs, Liam O'Shannessy, Megan Lane, Phil Siefert, Jordan Newnham, Leah Pinto, Carter Smith, Jay Banerji.

If you’re one of the thousands of people with a bank account sitting around going unused, it might be time to close it, according to CyberCX Financial Services Lead Shameela Gonzalez. Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald, Shameela says that dormant bank accounts are like "honey pots" for cyber criminals who want to steal funds from a place you’re not going to pick up on quickly. "Dormant accounts are really attractive compared with an account you’re frequently using, and therefore likely to pick up on something that looks suspicious." Shameela says that if you’re in a position to close a dormant account, then do so. “There’s very rarely ever a good reason to have a dormant account, especially if it’s going to have a significant number of funds associated with it. If you’re not going to be actually managing it, protecting it, just ask yourself, why?” Read more in the full piece: https://lnkd.in/drc5qe7Q

CyberCX is thrilled to present the inaugural ‘Cyber & Your Data’ conference track at SXSW Sydney 2024 ↙️ showcasing thought leaders and curating conversations on the latest insights and innovations in tech and cyber. The CyberCX Lounge will play host to an exciting mix of panels and talks on emerging and evolving cyber issues across Monday 14 and Tuesday 15 October, including a Girls Talk Cyber live podcast with eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman - Grant. Cyber intelligence experts and ‘hunters’ from season three of Network 10’s Hunted Australia will also feature on the SXSW Discovery stage, uncovering the dark arts of ethical hacking and digital forensics, with a live demonstration of how they gain valuable insights from your digital footprint. Follow CyberCX across our socials for more details: https://linktr.ee/cybercx

CyberCX Chief Strategy Officer Alastair MacGibbon recently attended the 2024 Counter Ransomware Initiative (CRI) Summit in Washington D.C. where CyberCX was selected to be part of a new Public-Private Panel (Advisory Panel) with the CRI.   "Cyber criminals have an asymmetrical advantage over defenders," said Alastair. "They wreak havoc across borders as they ply their lucrative trade with impunity, disrupting businesses and critical services, stealing sensitive and valuable data, extorting their victims, and endangering lives. International cooperation to combat this global crime has never been more important."   The goal of the Advisory Panel is to empower CRI member governments to leverage expertise from across the cyber ecosystem, fostering proactive collaboration with private, research, and non-profit sectors.   Private sector partners - including CyberCX - were selected for their demonstrated commitment to public-private partnerships, as well as their capacity to represent organisations of different size, global capacity, geographic location, service offerings, and expertise.   Find out more here: https://lnkd.in/eJRhMreb

CyberCX is excited to be an official partner of SXSW Sydney 2024, presenting the inaugural ‘Cyber & Your Data’ conference track.   The partnership will include a two-day ‘CyberCX Lounge’ featuring an exciting mix of expert panels, talks and a live podcast. CyberCX will assist SXSW Sydney to strengthen its digital defences, providing best in breed cyber security services for the largest event of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region.    CyberCX CEO John Paitaridis said, “We are proud to be associated with SXSW Sydney and provide our support for this truly unique event, showcasing thought leaders and curating conversations on the latest insights and innovations in tech and cyber to thousands across Asia-Pacific and globally."   “Given our deep knowledge and expertise of the cyber threat landscape, we look forward to providing attendees with insightful, thought-provoking sessions on emerging and evolving cyber issues,” he continued.   Find out more in our media release: https://lnkd.in/dHrJR5Yy

CyberCX has strengthened its New Zealand leadership team with Tom Khangura becoming Director of Cloud Sales and Sven Ross Executive Director for Managed Security Services.   “New Zealand businesses can achieve greater agility, innovate faster, and respond more effectively to market demands," Tom said. "We’re focused on reimagining how IT drives business outcomes.” “Importantly, our Security Operations Centres (SOC) in Auckland and Wellington deliver services to our clients in NZ and form critical nodes in our federated network of nine SOCs globally,” Sven added. The leadership promotions follow the launch of a new CyberCX office in Auckland at 131 Queen Street, marking the company’s largest workspace in New Zealand. Read the full article from Reseller News NZ here: https://lnkd.in/gjiBUXBb

CyberCX's Alastair MacGibbon says when you strip back the US government's concerns around Chinese-made EVs, it's not about whether something is manufactured in China, but whether it requires a constant connection with China to function.   "China is a surveillance state that conducts information gathering on people and organisations outside of China to advance its own interests," he told The Sydney Morning Herald. "China has form in this area – last year the UK government discovered a tracking device in a Chinese-made component of a government vehicle."   Alastair said the Australian government has been more forward-leaning on technology in critical infrastructure and used by government, but we haven’t had a mature conversation about threats in consumer devices. "China’s dominance in connected consumer technology like electric vehicles will only grow, and we will be on the wrong side of history as a country if we don’t act now," he continued.   Read more in the full piece here: https://lnkd.in/dB7BzcxK

Electric vehicles going haywire in a time of conflict? CyberCX's Alastair MacGibbon says the idea may not be that far-fetched, with the real risk coming from China.    "They are full of cameras and they are full of microphones," he told 10 News First. "They are a software-driven device that just happens to have wheels."    As the Biden administration looks to ban all Chinese-made vehicles that connect to the internet over national security concerns, Alastair says "we have sleep-walked into this as the West by thinking that there is no distinction between made in China and controlled by China."

Speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), CyberCX’s Alastair MacGibbon says that the Biden administration’s concerns over Chinese electric vehicles are not unfounded as questions are raised about how Australia might respond to a ban in the US on national security grounds.   "We led the world when it came to 5G security," Alastair said. “We were kind of mocked for it originally, and then pretty much every free-thinking nation followed.”   "We've, frankly, in the last seven or eight years, done almost nothing when it comes to device security, not where a device is manufactured, but where it's controlled from."   You can read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/gcDZJssU

Writing in the The Australian Financial Review today, CyberCX Chief Strategy Officer Alastair MacGibbon says that the US government is banning Chinese-made EVs with internet connections for fear they will be used for surveillance or sabotage and that Australia will need to step up too. “When you strip back the concerns of the US government, this is not about whether something is manufactured in China. It’s about whether it requires a constant connection with China to function” Alastair writes. “Our decision to ban Huawei from Australia’s 5G networks fundamentally hinged on whether a government in a country like China could direct information to be gathered, or more importantly, disrupt telecommunications – and everything that relies on connectivity – in a time of conflict.” “As the policy conversation shifts from industrial to consumer technology, the risk remains twofold: there is the immediate risk of surveillance and espionage, and the future risk of disruption, degradation and sabotage.” You can read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gZ8XrYzX