Last week, AISA’s BrisSEC conference brought together some of the best and brightest of Queensland’s cyber security community under the theme, “The Race to Secure the Sunshine State”. This year had the largest turnout to date with 650 individuals in attendance; though this comes as no surprise given the relevance of this year’s theme.

As Queensland prepares itself for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, cyber security is naturally on everyone’s mind – and whilst this isn’t Australia’s first time in the Olympics arena, let’s face it; the cyber threat landscape is vastly different now than it was in 2000.

The opening remarks from the Honourable Steven Minnikin, Queensland’s Minister for Customer Services and Open Data and Minister for Small and Family Business, set the tone for the day; Australians – and Queenslanders in particular – must work together to build a strong digital infrastructure capable of anticipating and staying ahead of emerging threats faced by the state. The challenge lies in ensuring the right people, processes, and technology are in place to tackle this evolving threat landscape.

Of course, Artificial Intelligence (AI) was, rather predictably, the buzzword of the day, and the keynote given by Professor Toby Walsh (ARC Laureate Fellow and Scientia Professor of AI at UNSW) took a unique approach in his presentation; focussing on dispelling AI myths and bringing some much needed clarity to the role AI plays in today’s society. Professor Walsh’s delightfully pragmatic delivery and no-nonsense approach made the presentation an easy standout for the RightSec team!

In a refreshing departure from previous events, there was a certain cohesion to AISA’s breakout session streams that has been missing in recent years (that isn’t to say that previous years’ sessions haven’t been valuable and insightful). Rather than the generic “Technical”, “People” and “Governance” streams that BrisSEC attendees have grown accustomed to, AISA took BrisSEC26 in a new direction, with “People, Culture & Performance”, “Risk, Regulation & Accountability”, and “Staying Ahead of a Fast Moving Threat Landscape” streams, enabling more targeted and meaningful discussions across disciplines.

The sessions themselves explored a broad range of contemporary cyber security challenges, including the growing importance of cyber culture and human behaviour and the need for further collaboration and awareness, as well as practical insights on leading organisational change, driving the effective adoption of controls, and building capability across the cyber workforce. Several sessions highlighted that resilience not only involves technological controls, but also an environment where people understand and embrace their role in protecting their organisation.

This was complemented by discussions on the value of performing privacy impact assessments, taking a proactive approach to incident response, and the growing challenges of AI governance. Sessions then shifted into deeper technical content exploring software supply chain risks, attacker behaviour, and approaches to emerging threats, including post-quantum cryptography. There was also a strong focus on securing critical infrastructure, reinforcing just how important it is to build resilience into the systems that underpin the state’s operations.

What was made clear is that the security and resilience of our Sunshine State is not something that is going to be achieved by an individual, but rather by the collective. The strength of Queensland’s cyber security capacity will be determined by the continued research and development in cyber security, the application of practical skills and expertise, and the empowerment and upskilling of individuals and teams across Queensland. At the end of the day, this will only be possible through the efforts of passionate cyber professionals who care deeply about the outcome and are committed to seeing it through.

With the 2032 Games on the horizon, the clock is ticking to advance the state’s cyber preparedness and ensure we are ready to meet the challenges ahead. Queensland’s cyber security community must work together to make sure we’re not too late in the race to secure the Sunshine State!