We are excited to announce the return of our influential conference, the Future of Financial Services: Security, Sydney. This year’s event will bring together top cyber leaders in the financial services sector who will share their vision through compelling keynote addresses, networking sessions, and comprehensive panel discussions before an audience of over 200 ICT professionals.
Last year, the conference explored the implications of quantum computing, AI in cybersecurity, navigating regulatory concerns, and the development of proactive/reactive strategies in financial services.
The over-arching theme of this year’s series will be “Navigating Digital-First Paradigm Shifts in Security,” and the day’s content will be underscored by the following sub-themes:
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Accelerating your organisation’s digital transformation by integrating security-led decision-making and aligning security with the strategic goals of the business.
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Designing and implementing human-centric security measures that seamlessly integrate into existing workflows, ensuring they do not disrupt business operations.
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The latest advancements in threat intelligence.
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The merits and pitfalls of Platformisation.
- Responding to the pressure to become “Quantum-ready.”
- New opportunities for exploitation: as seamless collaboration across platforms like Microsoft 365, Generative AI, and cloud applications becomes more prevalent, cybercriminals are finding new avenues to exploit. These environments present opportunities for ransomware attacks, account hijacking to steal sensitive data, and the use of social engineering techniques to manipulate employees into divulging confidential information.
- Critical challenges: organisations face several key challenges, including managing data overload and integrating advanced threat intelligence frameworks. Additionally, the need for automated intelligence sharing across essential systems is crucial. There are also significant risks associated with using unclassified data for training AI models, alongside the ongoing emergence of new API threats that require constant vigilance.
- Responding with agility: achieving real-time visibility across all environments is essential for effective incident response. Implementing broader, adaptive cybersecurity controls across digital platforms enhances resilience. Additionally, secure intelligence sharing and cross-team collaboration are vital for a coordinated approach.
- Shifting from reactivity to proactivity as a security department: implementing a ‘shared responsibility model,’ becoming a crucial part of decision-making, not just preventing the erosion of business value, and eliminating technical jargon and quantifying commercial benefits and cyber risk when advocating for increased investment in security.
- Mastering security to accelerate your organisation’s digital transformation: aligning security with strategic business goals by supporting each phase of the transformation process (including operating model launch), implementing Gen AI controls, predictions around security and Agentic AI, enhancing security awareness and fostering sustained behaviour changes and streamlining security processes in an agile, simplified IT environment.
- Maintaining compliance while achieving operational excellence and exceptional customer outcomes: navigating increasingly complex and often contradictory global regulatory environments, “secure-by-design" as a potential legal requirement, and preparing for the implementation of APRA’S CPS230 in July 2025.
- Securing Generative AI models and associated APIs: mitigating API risk, the evolving approach to handling unclassified data and establishing who’s responsible, and the necessity of updated data governance frameworks.
- The future of human-centric security strategy: pivoting from technical controls to locating identity as a key element of the attack chain, implementing layers of controls in the day-to-day operations of the business, and heightening training and awareness to mitigate the internal and external exposure of customer PII.
- Disruptive paradigms: cybersecurity investments as no longer inversely proportional to user experience, transformation opportunities with the workforce embrace of Gen AI, ensuring future cybersecurity architecture is an enabler of ‘future of work initiatives.’
- The ever-evolving threat landscape: deeper insight into AI-driven attack tactics employed by cybercriminal networks, the exponential rise in ransomware attacks, surges in account hijacking and data theft, and how human identity has emerged as the most targeted element in the attack chain.
- Growing organisational vulnerabilities: facing increased risks due to exposed APIs and expanding attack surfaces, the challenges associated with using unclassified data for Generative AI models, implementing tailored controls to address these vulnerabilities and prioritizing the security of hybrid and multi-cloud tech stacks.
- Assessing key threat prevention and detection methodologies: advancements in IAM, MFA, DLP and cloud security, effective attack surface management, strategies to counter AI-driven threats, human-centric security approaches, and the potential benefits of Platformisation.
- Cyber Security Platformisation: the development of a unified system that integrates a variety of security tools into a robust platform, as a means of strengthening defences while ensuring security strategies are agile and effective.
- Merits: centralised management, streamlined operations, simplified procurement processes, enhanced visibility, improved collaboration and scalability, and significant cost and efficiency advantages.
- Pitfalls: while Platformisation can simplify processes, it does not inherently reduce complexity. The integration of various tools - each with its own data standards, API specifications, and architecture—can add significant complexity to the technical environment, and to avoid increasing the total cost of ownership, this integration must be approached thoughtfully.
- Quantum risk: Evaluating the challenges associated with quantum-resistant algorithms, particularly in ensuring their security and robustness. Additionally, while the potential for criminal use of quantum technology is a concern, it remains largely speculative and is considered a distant issue for now.
- Quantum availability and prioritisation as a cyber leader: It’s crucial to prioritize urgent matters, especially in the context of quantum availability. Currently, there is a scarcity of usable quantum technology, making it essential to view quantum solutions as preventative measures rather than reactive ones. This proactive approach will help ensure that our security strategies are prepared for future challenges.
- The convergence of AI and Quantum: The development of quantum algorithms specifically designed for AI applications, as well as the integration of AI and quantum technologies within workflows. Additionally, leveraging AI can enhance quantum control and measurement, leading to more precise and efficient outcomes.
- The other side of the algorithm: supporting and fostering innovation as a security department by engaging with technologists on the future of IT, and ensuring cyber innovation aligns with the current-stage goals and long-term vision of your organisation.
- The evolving wave of disruptive technologies: Reporting the security implications of emerging technologies or changes to your technology stack and managing your risk appetite, the imperative to automate, and securing Generative AI.
- Reaching the dawn of the Quantum era: preparing for post-Quantum cryptography, promoting Quantum-readiness, what the future holds for the latest frontier technology and what next steps may be.
- Establishing initiatives that focus on enhancing the security posture of small financial institutions: forming partnerships with security vendors and well-resourced financial institutions to guide the implementation of Artificial Intelligence.
- The significant opportunity AI presents: addressing the shortage of security resources by automating processes and enhancing decision-making, and leveraging AI to better protect against emerging threats and improve overall resilience.