AISA CyberCon Canberra 2024 Wrap

A snapshot of CyberCon from a local Canberra recruiters view.

I skipped the tech workshops on Monday morning to attend at the Australian Women in Security Network (AWSN) breakfast. I got to meet and greet with a room full of enthusiastic and motivated cyber professionals from all over Australia which was a great way to kick off 3 days of networking. After a piccolo and eggs, I found my lanyard, took a mandatory photo with the CyberCon sign and off we went to begin the day. 

After the welcome to country, newly appointed National Cyber Security Coordinator Lieutenant General Michelle McGuiness addressed the room with her thoughts and perspective on the up-and-coming cyber industry and some of the real battles we face in our industry. From here I moved on to the exhibitors and went stall by stall, learning, talking, grabbing free merch, followed by some more talking. By the time I looked at my watch it was nearly 5.30pm and the day was gone!

Wednesday started the same way Tuesday finished, networking and talking. I listened to Dirk Hodgson from Cognito Digital present on digital twins which was super interesting to hear the use of digital twins in real world situations. I then went on to hear Ben Doyle deliver an excellent, interactive chat about being a CISO for 20 years with my key take away being “look after your mental wellbeing” in a highly stressful environment. 

In my opinion, if you’re considering the investment in a cyber conference, CyberCon provides a great balance of interesting and thought-provoking topics and lots of networking opportunities. I loved the networking, meeting and seeing all the people that share a common focus of improving our cyber industry and cant wait for Melbourne, 26-28 November.